Shiro Den Gaiden One

by kiriel

The first gaiden for the series, Fushigi Yuugi: The Next Generation. As some of my readers requested. This is the 1st of four, and it's about the Suzaku group. A civil war is about to break out in Konan. Only one of the Suzaku seishi can stop it, but

10. My Oniichan

Shiro Den – Gaiden One

Chapter Nine: My Oniichan

Disclaimer: I own the new story and new characters. The wonderful Yuu Watase, who will be appearing at the Anime Expo in Long Beach, owns the original characters and concepts.

Author's Note: Sorry for the lack of the updates. I would like to thank you all for your wonderful reviews and patience. I've got to edit my work first before I post and my computer went in for much needed repairs. I've never received as much attention and acclaimed for my work as I've had for my Fushigi Yuugi stories. All I can say is Wow. I have people e-mailing me telling me how wonderful the stories are, and others e-mailing me asking how I do it. These author's notes also give insights into the workings of my inner mind and my creative process. By the way, my roommate is working on pictures to go with the story, Fushigi Yuugi: The Next Generation. Some of you have probably never seen any of her art. Check some of her art out at our website: http://www.dreamwater.org/animelunacy . The story, Child of Earth, Child of Gaea, has the pics. I've already seen the wonderful art work for Fushigi Yuugi: The Next Generation. She's got pictures of the four mikos, Yui with baby Sei, Sei, Inochi, and Yogensha. Last time I saw her working on the picture of when the four girls meet at the temple and Miwa hot on the trail of the ever elusive Mariko. I don't know when she's going to scan those in, but I hope she does it soon. ^_^ We sound like the ladies at Clamp or Yuu Watase. My expertise is story writing because I can't draw at all. Well…I specialize in stick figures. :p

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            Shiro landed back in the bed immobilized. He didn't know if he should follow Hono'o who had left with tears coming down her face. Shiro stared up at the ceiling in his room and let out a heavy sigh. 'What am I doing? I should go after her! What am I supposed to say to her? I should say that I'm sorry, but I can't tell her what's really going on. I am weak…' he thought to himself as he lifted his hand to touch his lips. For a moment, he had felt her lips on his as she kissed him goodbye. Hono'o hadn't kissed him goodbye since he was five and she was four. Her lips were soft and delicate like a fresh strawberry. Shiro closed his eyes again because he needed his sleep.

Hono'o walked swiftly with purpose as she made her way towards the stable. "Renbiao! Could you please saddle a horse for me?" she asked as she wiped the tears off her face because she didn't want anyone to know that she was crying. It was embarrassing, and she knew that all the servants would side with Shiro anyway out of loyalty. Renbiao bowed to her and went to the stable to pick out a mare and saddle her for Lei-sama.

Pei Pei hearing Hono'o voice came from her room where she had been waiting for her oniichan to wake up from his slumber. She quickly donned a light outer robe and followed the sounds of Hono'o's departure. Alarm went throughout Pei Pei, she didn't want Hono'o to leave. "Lei-sama!" shouted Pei Pei as she ran towards Hono'o who was busying herself with the horse that Renbiao had brought to her quickly. "What's wrong? Why are you leaving?!" exclaimed Pei Pei as she tugged on Hono'o's right sleeve.

"I can't stay here," whispered Hono'o gently as she came down closer to Pei Pei, so that they could talk to each other eye to eye.

"You can go," pleaded Pei Pei.

"I have to go back to the capital. I'm well enough and there are responsibilities waiting for me at home," Hono'o whispered, shaking her head at the same time.

"Is it something I did?" asked Pei Pei with unshed tears glistening in her eyes.

"No," answered Hono'o without hesitation because it wasn't Pei Pei who was the problem; it was her.

"Did Oniichan say something stupid? He's really smart, but like all men, he says things that he doesn't mean!" Pei Pei explained frantically. Hono'o turned away from her because she didn't want to face Pei Pei.

"I have to go home," repeated Hono'o refusing to listen to anything that Pei Pei had to say. Her hair shielded her face and her eyes were still watery, but she didn't want anyone to see her close to tears again. Hono'o didn't want Pei Pei made at Shiro for some unknown reason that she couldn't explain herself. Hono'o saddled on to the horse with Renbiao's help who was looking at her with much concern. He and Kenren knew the secret of Lord Hakurou: he was the seventh Suzaku seishi known as Shiro. 'Is she upset about something that has to do with being a seishi?' thought Renbiao as he noticed Hono'o's shaking hands. Without saying nothing more, Hono'o rode away from the Su Estate.

* * *

A day later, Hakurou was up and about, and he had summoned Kenren and Renbiao into his private study to discuss his status as a Suzaku seishi. The two servants came in as respectful as ever, but with another deep of reverence to their lord. They understood the undercurrent of power that seemed to surround his aura. Kenren had told no one about Hakurou earlier loss of his temper.

"I am the seventh Suzaku seishi, Shiro. My apologies for telling no one about it sooner, not even Lord Su knew about it," said Hakurou as he bowed slightly to his servants because he felt truly awful about lying to people who had come to trust and respect him.

"It is alright, Milord," said Kenren quickly.

"We promise to keep your secret, if you will it, Milord," added Renbiao.

"Yes, please keep it quiet for now. Thank you both," said Hakurou with a sigh of relief. He was grateful to them for their loyalty.

Kenren and Renbiao left the room after that. Hakurou got up after a little work because he needed to stretch around a little. His body was still sore from his encounter with Suzaku, and he was concerned about Hono'o. She had left so suddenly and in tears. 'I was only doing what was best for her. Can't she see that? Why does she have to make things so dramatic for God's sake? It's not a big deal…still…I wish she hadn't left like that. I wonder if she's going to say anything to anyone. What if she tells everyone where I am? I won't have a moment's peace,' he thought as he tried to shake the selfish thoughts from his head. Suddenly, he felt a finger tap on his shoulder, when he turned around he found Pei Pei staring up at him with an angry look on her face.

"What's wrong, Pei Pei?" asked Hakurou, a bit taken back by the look on her face.

"BAKA! HOW COULD YOU JUST LET HER LEAVE?! BAKA!" shouted Pei Pei at the top of her lungs as her small hand rolled into a pair fist. She started pounding on his chest as she continued screaming, "WHY? BAKA! YOU SAID SOMETHING THAT MADE HER LEAVE! BAKA! BAKA! BAKA!" Hakurou let her pound on his chest until she worn herself out. Pei Pei was crying and sobbing as she leaned her forehead on Hakurou. He gently stroked her hair as she cried, and he wrapped his other arm around her shoulders.

"I'm sorry, Pei-chan," said Hakurou as he gently continued stroking her hair. He realized that Pei Pei hated losing people in her life; she had lost her father and mother, and she had quickly attached herself to Hono'o.

"Oniichan, I'm sorry for hitting," she whispered as she wrapped her arms around his waist in a hug.

"I'm not going anywhere," Hakurou reassured Pei Pei, knowing that was what she needed to hear from him. Pei Pei felt protected and secure in her brother's embrace because she could his steady heartbeat.

* * *

            Hono'o rode for several hours straight, and she didn't know how long she was riding. She just went in the direction that she knew was away from him. Her thoughts were clouded, and she didn't know why. 'What's wrong with me? Why am I letting him get to me? It's just Kuairong,' she thought frantically as she blinked back the tears in her eyes. She dismounted from her horse which needed a good rest after the long, hard ride she put it through. The sound of rustling leaves immediately alerted her.

"Who's there?" asked Hono'o in a weak voice as she raised her left hand to make a fireball.

"It's me…Lei…you look…" trailed off a familiar voice. Hono'o shook her hair away from her eyes so that she could see who was speaking to her.

"Kanghui?" she asked when she finally recognized the voice and face of Shiro's younger brother.

"Lei, are you alright?" he asked with concern in his eyes. Hono'o tried to straight up and pull her hair back, but she had no hair ornament for her hair.

"No," answered Hono'o truthfully.

"What's wrong? Did you find him?" asked Kanghui. He noticed that her hair was much shorter as part of it hide one of her amber eyes.

"Yes, but he's lost," answered Hono'o. Kanghui looked at her blankly, not knowing exactly what she was saying.

"I found him over the ridge. Ride for the next five hours and you'll come to a valley, and hidden deep in the valley is a village. Ask someone where the Su Estate is. You will find him there, but he's not the person, you remember. He's a lost soul," said Hono'o as she finished off with a sigh. She gestured towards the direction that Kanghui had to travel.

"Where are you going?" asked Kanghui, at this point, he didn't care about his brother. He was more worried about Hono'o. There was definitely something wrong with her.

"Home. I guess," answered Hono'o after much silence. Looking totally and utterly lost, Kanghui gently took her arm, and pulled her into an embrace. Hono'o let him hold her for awhile. After that, Kanghui told her about his mission to find Shiro and about receiving his father's blessings to let him go.

"It's a waste of time," whispered Hono'o. Kanghui looked at her questioningly, but he decided not to ask her why. He instinctively knew that his brother had something to do with her behavior. He knew about their friendship as a young child he was always paying attention to both of them. Something was always between them, a sort of kinship, but it was more than that. Kanghui could sense it off his brother. There was something more, but he couldn't quite place his finger on it exactly. Now, for the first time, he could feel that same feeling that his brother always had towards Lei, it was coming from her. The feeling was now directed towards his brother. It was something that Kanghui was going to confront his brother with, along with other issues.

* * *

            Tasuki was in the Imperial Palace of Eiyou looking for Odayaka; he wanted to know where his daughter was. The tension in the air was palpable wherever he went, and people were now trying to avoid him. Kouji and Shumi were getting along again, when they had decided to bond together to avoid Tasuki. Odayaka was successful for the past week with the help of Mariko and the others, but they were running out of ideas as Tasuki's patience was running out.

"Odayaka!" shouted Tasuki when he found him at the throne room with Sei, Mariko, Ryu, Kawa, and Taki.

"Damn," said Sei underneath his breath. Tasuki heard him and glared at him. Ryu winced for Sei as he took one step back.

"Yes?' asked Odayaka innocently.

"Where's my daughter?!" demanded Tasuki.

"What's that?" said Odayaka playfully. Mariko gave him a strange look and shook her head, 'Odayaka shouldn't be playing around with Tasuki like that…not under these conditions anyway,' she thought.

"WHERE'S MY DAUGHTER?! YOU'VE SEEN HER BEFORE! YOU'VE SEEN HER SINCE SHE WAS BORN! YOU KNOW THE GIRL WITH THE RED HAIR WHO LOOKS A LOT LIKE HER MOTHER?! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON AROUND HERE?! YOU'VE BEEN AVOIDING ME FOR DAYS! I WANT TO KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON RIGHT NOW!!! WHAT THE F**K IS GOING ON?! WHERE THE F**K IS SHE?! HAS SHE CONTACTED YOU?! WHY AREN'T YOU ANSWERING MY QUESTIONS?! IF ANY OF YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON YOU'D BETTER TELL ME!!!" exploded Tasuki. Everyone was sweatdropped and superdeformed.

"Um…what's going on?" asked a quiet voice from the entrance of the throne room.

"Shitsu! Thank Suzaku, you're back!" greeted Mariko with much relief as she ran up to Shitsu to give her a hug. Tasuki practically had smoke coming out of his ears, and his right hand was right on the tessen.

"Where's Lei?" demanded Tasuki in very low and dangerous voice. Kawa held up her hand just in case she had to shield everyone from Tasuki losing his temper completely and letting out a burst of flame from the tessen.

Shitsu nervously gulp and cleared her throat, "She said something about hanging around Mt. Leikaku for a while. She wanted to see her grandparents and Lingsu." She kept her face completely expressionless so that Tasuki wouldn't be able to tell that she was lying to him.

"Oh. But…I mean, she really doesn't like to visit my parents. Well, maybe, she wants to see Lingsu," said Tasuki musingly as he finally calm back down. Shitsu suppressed the urge to let out a sigh because then he would know that she was lying.

"That's it," said Shitsu as she nodded. Everyone else knew that she was lying and was sweatdropped.

* * *

            Kanghui was riding to the valley and finally came to the entrance of the valley. There came a group of men who stopped him along the way, and he knew immediately that they were bandits.

"You must pay the toll to come to this village," said the leader quietly. Kanghui studied him and knew that these men were no problem. His experience with bandits taught him how to handle the situation.

"What's your charge? Ten? Twenty?" he asked as he careful placed his and on his money pouch next to his sword handle.

"Since you asked so nice…fifty," said the leader greedily.

"That's not a very fair toll. How do you know I have the money to pay for it?" he asked as he hand moved onto the handle of the sword. The sun was down and no one would be able to tell where Kanghui's hand was. The leader of the bandits advanced.

"Then, we'll take it out of yer hide! ATTACK THE SMART ASS KID!" shouted the leader. Kanghui had drawn out his sword the moment that he gave the order to attack. There were five of them including the leader, and they were coming at him with clubs and daggers. Kanghui didn't know what came over him; it was a sudden surge of adrenaline. He started to fight back, and he disarmed one of the men, stabbing him at the same time. The three other men ran away like cowards, but Kanghui didn't care. The leader looking at him with wide eyes as he shook with fear.

"Drop your weapon," said Kanghui harshly. The dagger barely made a sound when it hit the ground as the man trembled in fear at Kanghui's feet. "On your knees," he ordered.

"Please don't kill me. I'll do anything. I'll give you gold," begged the leader.

"Not good enough," whispered Kanghui in a cold voice as he raised his sword above his head. Another hand came out of no where and pulled his arm back as he dropped his sword. Kanghui felt the pain as his arm was twisted behind him. The man looked at the figure behind him and gave it a grateful look as he took off running away helping his fellow bandit up from the ground first.

"Don't take a life needless," said the voice behind him in a soft, deep whisper. The whisper was almost familiar.

"Oniichan?" asked Kanghui as his eyes widened. The grip on his arm loosened, and he sank to the ground. "Let me go. You can't tell me what to do anymore. I don't have to listen to you!" he cried. His brother was holding his right arm with his right hand, and with his left arm he held him keeping him steady. "All my life I wanted to be like you! I was never good enough for anyone! Because I wasn't you! I'm just the spare son!" He was choking on his sobs.

"You're not the spare son. You're the good son who never broke our parents hearts. You shouldn't try to be like me. I'm not good enough to be like you. You are a good person, and you always have been. Be yourself because your perfect just the way you are, Kanghui," said Kuairong softly. Kanghui turned around to face his older brother and look him straight in the eye. He found that he was maybe an inch or two shorter than him, and that he was finely dressed underneath a black cloak.

The worst part was his eyes. Kauirong's eyes were glazed over and devoid of any emotion.

It was like he was dead inside.

* * *

            Hono'o had arrived back in Konan early just when the market place was opening up. She purchased a new hair ornament to hide the fact that her hair was so much shorter than before. The clothes she was wearing were the ones that Hakurou had ordered for her which was a light peach color with a design of cherry blossoms on the outer robe. She could say that she bought the new clothes, but she couldn't pay for the hair ornament, and promised the proprietor of stand that she would come by later to pay for it. Finally, Hono'o took the horse to her grandfather's stable to hide it among the other horses. She walked back to her parents trying to come up with something to say, but there was nothing she could think of, and her brain was too tired to do anything. When she reached the door of her home, she sighed and took another deep breath as she opened the door. She was greeted with the sight of her parents, brother, and Shiro's parents.

"Hello, everyone," said Hono'o in soft voice as she tried to hide the surprised look on her face. 'What am I going to say to Shiro's parents? How am I supposed to explain all this? What are they doing here?' she thought.

"Lei. We've been so worried about you! Welcome home," said Ling. She stood up from her seat at the breakfast table to give her daughter hug. Lei stood perfectly still, and she made eye contact with her father. Tasuki was studying her carefully. He remembered the last time she had left, and came back looking tired. He was worried.

"Lei! Looks like you decided to come back," said Tiaowo with a smirk on his face. Lei looked at him with a glazed over look on her face. She looked like a doll: totally emotionless.

"I failed," she whispered.

"What?" asked Tasuki with concern.

"I failed my mission. It was supposed to be my job to find. I couldn't find him. I failed. I'm so sorry," said Hono'o in a sad voice. She had looked at Kouji and Shumi at the last part of her statement.

"It's all right. We'll sort this out later. Come sit down and have something to eat, Lei," said Ling. Hono'o nodded and gulped down a sob that had formed in her throat. Everyone asked her questions about her trip. Tasuki and Ling scolded her for not saying anything about separating from Shitsu. Tiaowo asked her how Lingsu was, and Lei had no choice, but to lie. Kouji and Shumi talked about Kanghui looking for Shiro, and Lei had listened without saying anything.

"May I be excused? I need to get some sleep. I've been riding all night to get here," said Hono'o at the end of breakfast, which she didn't eat any of it. Tasuki nodded, and she left the table. Everyone was quiet after, but Tasuki was the most concerned about her.

She went to her room and careful took off her clothes, carefully folded them, and placed them in her chest. She went to her vanity to brush out her hair and placed a smaller hair ornament in her hair. Hono'o climbed into bed and promptly fell asleep.

* * *

Kanghui was invited to stay at the Su Estate, and he looked around with wonder. Whomever, his brother was serving, he had to be a very rich, powerful, and kindhearted. He replayed all the events that had happened the night before. His brother was the one who had stopped him from doing something awful, and Kanghui was shuddering at the thought of what he had almost done. He was supposed to be a healer, and he almost recklessly took someone's life.

"Lord Hakurou would like to see you at study in the East Wing," said Renbiao at the door. Everyone knew at the Su Estate that the new guest was Lord Hakurou's younger brother.

"Alright," said Kanghui nervously because he really didn't know what to do. Lord Hakurou had been so kind to allow his brother to let him stay at the Su Estate. As followed Renbiao, Kanghui admired the tapestries on the wall, the carpeting on the floor, the rich furniture, and size of all the rooms that he could see. From inside, passing by a window, he could see a beautiful garden and later a hot spring.

"This way, young sir," said Renbiao as he opened the door. Kanghui found his brother sitting at a large heavy table with several scroll, a quill, an ink well, and books on top of it. Kuairong looked up at his younger brother and smiled slightly.

"Good morning, Kanghui. Did you have a good night's sleep?" he asked.

"Yes, thanks for asking," answered Kanghui without a trace of sarcasm on his voice, "I thought that I was supposed to be meeting Lord Hakurou."

There came a chuckle from Renbiao as he said, "Young sir…don't you know you're brother's name? He's Lord Hakurou."

Kanghui's jaw drop as he looked away from Renbiao to look at his brother; Kuairong gave a nodded of confirmation. "You're dismissed Renbiao, but please ask Shitian to bring in some tea for us," ordered Hakurou as he gestured for Kanghui to sit down. Renbiao bowed to his master and Kanghui, then he went to go ask Shitian to bring some tea. Kanghui's mouth was still agape when turned back to face his brother, "L—lord H—a-karuou," he stammered.

"That's what I'm called around here, Kanghui. Let me explain," said Hakurou as he started to explain everything: how he came to be lord of the region, Lord Su, and how he was the healer of the entire region. Kanghui was very amazed at his older brother's achievements, and he had a begrudging respect for him.

"Hakurou…wasn't that the name of the leader that Father served under along with Uncle Tasuki?" inquired Kanghui, but before Kuairong could answer Shitian came to the door. She bowed slightly placing the tea and breakfast on the table. "Thank you," said Kanghui and Kuairong in unison after that she bowed and left the room.

"Back to what I was about to say, it was the first name that came to my mind when Lord Su asked," said Hakurou simply.

"I understand…you must be very busy around here. Is that why you can't come home?" asked Kanghui with a hopeful look on his face. Hakurou nodded slightly as he poured some tea for his younger brother, set a plate in front of him, and placed some cakes on the plate for him.

"I've been busy taking care of everyone. I can't leave just yet because Pei Pei needs me here, and I made a promise to her when her father died," answered Hakurou.

"Does anyone know that you're a seishi, Oniichan?" asked Kanghui.

"Yes. Two of the servants know that I'm a seishi, and they've promised to keep it quiet for now," answered Hakurou as he calmly sipped his tea.

"I met Lei along the way…she seemed upset. Did you do something to her?" asked Kanghui frankly.

"We've some conversation about the way things are in the world, and we disagreed," replied Hakurou as he focused his attention to his tea. Kanghui looked down because he couldn't stand looking into his brother's eyes; they were glazed over, and the spark they once held were gone. Kanghui felt pity for him, and had forgotten his anger. It was as if Kanghui could see that there were missing pieces inside of Hakurou. "She wanted me to go to Eiyou for some sort of business. I'm not really a seishi anymore these days."

"You're denying who you are. That's not right! How could you work so hard and then just give up?!?" demanded Kanghui because he knew that Kuairong had to work hard for all of his achievements. He knew that Kuairong was a lot of things, but he wasn't a quitter, and he thought that he would never the voice of surrender from him.

"I've done enough. Do you realize that if I wasn't a seishi I would have already been executed for the things that I've done? Do think that's fair? I never want you to become like me. You're better than me. Both of you. You and Lei. I envy you both for being able to see the world through innocent eyes and without blood on your hands. You want to know why I didn't come home? I'll tell you why. It's because I couldn't face Mother and Father. I also didn't want you to become like me. I want you to stay the way you are. I never want to see you hurt anyone like I did. I am sorry for making you shoulder all the responsibilities I didn't want. You're a better man because of it. All my life I've always thought about the things that I wanted, and I never cared about anyone else. I am sorry for not being a good brother to you. I should try to make it up to you. I tried doing that by being a good brother to Pei Pei. What I really should do is make it up to you personally," said Hakurou as he choked on the last part. Kanghui couldn't believe it; his brother actually admitted to hurting people and was apologizing for everything.

"Can I stay here for a little bit?" asked Kanghui after a long pause.

"You can stay here for as long as you wish," answered Hakurou.

The time for healing between the two brothers had began, and it was a good start.

~*~ClareBear's Omake~*~

Nuriko: For your viewing pleasure, ClareBear has decided to do "A Bad Play." Ever wonder what kind of temples Shiro trained at? Yeah, right! Well, anyway on with the play.

Shiro has arrived at a new temple. He must pass the entrance inquiry before he can train there, so a master is questioning him on various things.

Master; So, you would like to join this temple?

Shiro: Yes, I would. I've already trained in other temples and would like to add the philosophy of this temple to my other lessons.

Master: First question, what is the sound of one hand clapping?

Shiro: That's an easy one. (Flaps his four finger in his right hand to his palm making a soft clapping sound.)

Master: That's not it! Oh, never mind, next question: if a tree falls in the woods does it make a sound?

Shiro: Yes. (makes the sound of a tree falling in the woods)

Master (shaking his head): No! Last question: How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if he could chuck wood?

Shiro: Um….hmm…that's hard one…I'M OUTTA HERE!

Takes off running.

Nuriko is being poked by a stick to wake up.

Nuriko: Oh, that's it. I hope you enjoyed it. Until next chapter, see you next time!

Nuriko waves.