Disclaimer: The characters of Fushigi Yuugi belong to Yuu Watase. But any new characters belong to me. ^_^
Little bit of drama here. ^_^ But don't worry, everyone gets back to normal by the end of the chapter. (By the way, I got the village's name from a site…sorry if it's incorrect. ^_^)
Chapter 8: Follow Your Heart"Hakukou." Nuriko spoke the name of Tamahome's home village in a whisper.
"It…what happened?" Nisou asked, still a bit shocked. She had never seen so much destruction inflicted upon such a peaceful-looking place. The house was in shambles…there was nothing left of it but broken boards and stone.
Nuriko whispered the story in her ear. As each word was said, Nisou's eyes grew wider, and wider, and tears threatened to spill down her cheeks.
"Oh God, how awful," she whispered. "Who could do such a terrible thing?"
"It was…it was Suboshi, of the Seiryuu shichiseishi," Youjin said quietly. "And I'll never forgive him." He turned to Nisou, with a strange look in his eyes…his eyes…they were violet.
Without another word, Youjin walked around the wreckage of the house and to a clearing a little ways away.
There were five mounds of earth in the clearing, with stones piled on top of them. The Suzaku seishi and their Miko entered with a grave silence hovering around them. There weren't even any birds singing in the trees.
Youjin was already there, and he was kneeling in front of the five graves…but he wasn't himself. Somewhere, deep in his heart, a quiet voice was crying.
"The place where I…where he grew up," Youjin thought, with a fiery anger bubbling in his soul. "The people who raised him and loved him…and looked up to him. The ones he cared about." It all seemed so unfair…
Nisou was crying into Nuriko's shoulder. The violet-haired warrior looked sadly at Youjin, as did the others.
"I could never do anything!" Youjin shouted silently. "It's so unfair…I could never save any of them…all I could do was watch them die…" He stood up. "No more…never again. I will never let anyone else I love die," he promised. His usually-hazel eyes flashed violet and the symbol of the ogre shined on his forehead. "I will do everything I can to protect the people that I love."
"Ah, damn, he even sounds like Tamahome," Tasuki muttered.
"Tasuki…" Hotohori said quietly. "I think that, right now, he is Tamahome."
~*~
"The ogre symbol glowed on his forehead, and his eyes had turned from hazel to violet. No longer was he Youjin…Tamahome had dominated his mind…" Yui read.
"Youjin…" Miaka whispered. "This isn't supposed to happen, is it?! He can't…I won't let him lose himself!" She grabbed the book and shouted, "Youjin! Youjin, snap out of it! You're not Tamahome!" Tears slid down her cheeks as she shouted and begged for him to overpower the personality that had taken control of him.
"Miaka…" Yui whispered.
"Youjin! Please…!"
Kouko just watched silently, her eyes wide, as she wondered what would become of the young seishi…and her daughter.
~*~
Nisou found herself unable to control the words that she shouted as she begged for Youjin to become himself again.
"Youjin! Please…!" she begged, with tears in her eyes. "Please come back…" She sank to her knees and cried.
Youjin…or Tamahome, now, looked at her with wide, sad violet eyes.
"Miaka," he whispered once, before his eyes flashed hazel and returned to normal. Then he ran to Nisou's side and put a protective arm around her, whispering words of comfort in her ear. "I'm here…I'm back," he whispered. "Please don't cry…I hate seeing you upset." Nisou looked at him, saw his eyes were back to normal…he was Youjin again.
"It's you again," she said quietly, smiling through her tears. Youjin nodded and wiped her tears away with the sleeve of his shirt.
"Yeah, it's me. I'm okay…and thanks."
"What…?"
"You're the one who brought me back," he said. "If it wasn't for you…I'd probably be lost in there forever."
"If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't be in this in the first place. I'm the Miko, remember?"
"Yeah, but I'm pretty sure that this was fate. I would've been brought here to serve the Miko one way or another…whoever she was." He grinned. "I'm just glad that it was you." Nisou blushed and stood up.
"I was hoping that we'd find the Shinzaho here," Nuriko muttered. "After all, this was probably a place that Miaka's heart would've gone out to…"
As they turned to leave, something caught Nisou's eye. A faint red glow…right in front of the five graves. She walked towards it, and gasped.
"Everyone…look at this!"
~*~
"Miaka, it's okay…Youjin's back to normal." Yui smiled. "I think your words reached him.
"My words…? How?" Miaka asked quietly.
"I think you and Nisou were both thinking the same thing…and she said the right things." They both sighed in relief. "Miaka, I think that this could happen again…Tamahome could take control of Youjin again, I mean," Yui muttered.
"You're probably right," Miaka agreed. "Bit I have a feeling that as long as Nisou's there with him, he won't be lost." She smiled. "As long as Nisou is with him…"
~*~
"What is it?" Youjin asked, looking at the red glow.
"I'm going to check it out," Nisou muttered, walking towards it. Youjin grabbed her hand.
"You're not going alone…just in case it isn't friendly." Nisou blushed and walked with him.
Nisou bent down to examine the glow. She put her hand into the light and quickly pulled it away, but was unharmed. Youjin did the same, but he felt his hand brush against something. He swept his hand over the ground and picked up something. Holding it in his closed hand, he stood up.
"What is it?" Nisou asked. Youjin held the object out to her and she gasped. "Could this be…?!" It was a silver ring, with a small red gem in the top.
The other warriors had come to examine their find. Tasuki shouted,
"Holy shit, that's it! That's Miaka's wedding ring! Fuck man, I didn't think we'd find it out in the middle of nowhere!" Nisou laughed.
"We found it! I can't believe we found it!" She jumped up happily and hugged Youjin. "We did it!" Then she realized exactly what she was doing and let go of him, blushing. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"
"No, it's okay!" Youjin said in a hurry. "I…really, I didn't mind that much." Both of them were blushing now.
"Ah, kids, no da!" Chichiri joked.
"Damn, guys, you've both turned the same fucking color as Suzaku!" Tasuki grinned.
"Shut up, Fang-Boy," Youjin snapped.
"Wassat, kid? Or maybe I should say…" Tasuki's grin got wider. "LITTLE GHOST!!"
"Tasuki, you're pushing your luck…" Youjin grumbled.
"Little ghost, little ghost, hah hah hah! Damn, you really are little compared to me, too. You're, what, fifteen?"
"Sixteen," Youjin growled. "And if you don't shut the hell up, I'll…"
"Little ghost! Hahaha!!" Youjin growled and started chasing Tasuki, away from Tamahome's buried family and the resting place of the Shinzaho.
"If I didn't know better, I'd say they liked fighting like that," Nuriko muttered. "Wouldn't you agree, H- er, Hotohori?" She blushed in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, I suppose I got into the habit of calling you 'Heika-sama'…"
"It's okay, Nuriko. It's odd thinking of you as a woman now anyways," Hotohori replied.
"Why's that? I was still as beautiful as I am now. I swear, if it wasn't for my strength I'd believe my power as a Suzaku warrior was my overpowering beauty!" she grinned.
"If anyone had that power, it would be me," Hotohori objected.
"Would not."
"Would too."
"Would not."
"Would too."
"LITTLE GHOST! LITTLE GHOST! Hah hah hahahahaha!!"
"TASUKI! Damn it, wait till I get my hands on you, asshole!" Youjin and Tasuki were still fighting…
"They fight worse than Tasuki and Tamahome did," Nuriki muttered. Then, looking at Hotohori, she added, "Would not."
"Would too."
They continued arguing playfully for ten minutes, each stating their own defenses. Then they decided to go to Nisou for their answer.
"Nisou!! We need your help!" Nuriko called in a light, airy voice. Nisou looked up from watching Youjin and Tasuki chasing each other.
"What is it?"
"Which of us looks like our power as a Suzaku warrior would be beauty?" Nisou sweatdropped.
"Well, um, it's uh…I mean…that is to say, well…" she paused. "I don't know. Honestly, you both have an equal amount of beauty." Hotohori and Nuriko glared at each other.
"Uhhh…there are still three more Shinzahos to find, no da…" Chichiri muttered, sweatdropping. Everyone stopped.
"That's right," Youjin said. "But…where can we find them?"
"Sailo…you need to go to Sailo!"
