Fushigi Yuugi: Everlasting Story

Disclaimer: The characters of Fushigi Yuugi belong to Yuu Watase. But any new characters belong to me. ^_^

This chapter is REALLY LONG!!!

The chapter order's messed up a lot because I took out chapter 9.

Chapter 9: Lost Souls

It was Rinrin. She smiled just as brightly as ever, even as the Suzaku shichiseishi and their Miko glared at her.

"It's you!" Nuriko snapped. "Where'd you run off to?!"

"I…um…" the young violet-haired girl looked nervous and scared.

"Running to report back to whoever you're working for," Nuriko muttered. "Thought so."

"No, no nononono!" Rinrin shouted. "I just…I'm on your side!"

"Our side…" Youjin trailed off. "What do you mean?"

"You do have enemies here, you know," Rinrin said, suddenly serious. "You're lucky they haven't caught up with you yet. And I'm here to help you."

"Help us…find the Shinzahos?" Nisou asked in excitement.

"Of course!" Rinrin giggled. She looked at Nuriko, who was staring at her oddly. "What's wrong, Nuriko-san?" Nuriko blinked and shook her head.

"It's nothing. But…you remind me so much of –a CHOO! Excuse me." Nuriko put a finger over her nose and shook her head.

"Nuriko-san, are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine…you were saying?"

"It's my job to help you find the Shinzahos," Rinrin said. "And to help you stay one step ahead of…them."

"Who exactly is 'them'?" Nisou asked.

"You know, them…the bad guys." A sinister shadow covered Rinrin's face as she spoke. "The ones who want to destroy this world!"

"Damn, why is it that every time somethin' happens, someone wants to take over or destroy the whole fucking world?!" Tasuki shouted, gritting his fang-like teeth.

"Why?" Nisou asked. Rinrin looked up at her.

"What do you mean, why?"

"There has to be some reason…who are these people? Who are we fighting against?" Rinrin took a deep breath and answered,

"It's…it's the Seiryuu seishi."

~*~

"THE SEIRYUU SEISHI?!" Miaka and Yui cried together.

"Who are they?" Kouko asked.

"We told you about the Suzaku seishi, right? And how Miaka was their Miko?" Kouko nodded. "Well, when I went into the book…I became the Seiryuu no Miko."

"But who are they?"

"They warped me…twisted everything and made me think that I hated Miaka. They made me decide to fight against her," Yui whispered.

Suboshi stood in the hallway and listened to his mother speak. He had heard this story from when he was a child…but it had been a myth, hadn't it? Was it real…? It was almost too much for you seven-year-old to comprehend, but he listened anyways.

"Nakago was basically in charge," Yui continued. "He was so strong…as strong as all of the Suzaku warriors put together, I think. And Soi was in love with him. She had power over lightning…and could control chi through…well, you know."

"In…oh!" Kouko smiled. "I see…"

"There might be children lurking," Yui joked. "And they might not have had the talk quite yet."

"Ashitare," Miaka whispered. "He was one of the Seiryuu seishi, too."

"Yes, he was part wolf. And he…didn't he? That was his fault."

"Nuriko…" Miaka nodded.

"Tomo was a master of illusions. He…favored the company of men." Miaka giggled.

"I didn't know that," she said quietly. "And there was Miboshi…and he…oh, Chiriko…"

"I never knew what to make of him," Yui muttered. "But when I found out what Chiriko did to himself, to destroy Miboshi…" She shook her head and sighed.

"I think the most decent of the Seiryuu seishi were Amiboshi and Suboshi," Miaka muttered. Young Suboshi gasped. Were they talking about him? Or…or another?

"They were both so kind," Yui muttered. "Although I hardly knew Amiboshi."

"He played beautiful music," Miaka explained. "It was easy to tell that he wasn't truly bad, like he acted when the ceremony to summon Suzaku had been ruined."

"I believe he agreed to do that because-"

"Because he didn't want a war. He and Suboshi watched their parents die…he didn't want that to happen again."

"Amiboshi was so peaceful…Suboshi, on the other hand…"

"I didn't think I would ever forgive him for what he did to Tamahome's family," Miaka whispered. "But I also thought I would never forgive Taka for…" she stopped, feeling tears choking her words. If she continued to speak…

Suboshi was standing in the doorway.

"Mom?" he asked.

"S-Suboshi!" Yui whispered. "What are you doing in here? I thought you were watching television…"

"I…well, it's lunchtime," he explained with a small smile. "I was getting kinda hungry."

"Come to think of it, so am I," Miaka muttered, hearing a loud grumbling from the direction of her stomach.

"Maybe we should all take a lunch break. We can keep reading when we're done…and maybe we can explain more of the story to you, Kouko." The worried mother nodded, looking tired.

"Lunch sounds like a good idea."

~*~

"The Seiryuu shichiseishi?! But…but they all…I mean, we…" Tasuki stuttered. "Shit, man! This is so fucking weird!"

"More adequately, the spirits of the Seiryuu seishi," Rinrin explained. "They were left feeling restless…and they're powerful enough to do something about that."

"What exactly do they plan to do?" Youjin asked, hesitating, fearing the answer.

"I…" Rinrin frowned. "I don't know."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, YOU DON'T KNOW?!?!" Tasuki demanded.

"Tasuki! Settle down, no da!"

"The hell I will! This little twirp's pissing me off!!!" Rinrin gave him the saddest, most pathetically cute face she could muster, and he sighed. "Gah…I hate girls."

"Rinrin, is there anything else you can tell us?" Hotohori asked. "Anything at all?"

"Well…two things. One good and one bad. Which one first?" The vote was unanimous for the 'good' news first. "Alright then! Suboshi and Amiboshi aren't here. They're both happy…they didn't want to dig up the past."

"Well I suppose that's good," Nuriko muttered. "Now, what's the bad news?"

"Guess what? The bad news has three parts! Which one-"

"JUST TELL US ALREADY!!!" everyone shouted at once.

"Okay, okay! Well anyways, part one: none of you know what exactly they're going to do next. Part two: even though they're spirits without bodies, they're still strong and can still hurt you. Part three: They're getting stronger with every passing moment. The one thing I know for sure about their intentions is that sometime in the future, they will destroy this world. That's why Taiitsukun brought you and Nisou here," Rinrin said, pointing at Youjin.

"To the past…?"

"Exactly! Now, come on! We have a long journey ahead of us!"

"That's all fine and dandy, but where are we going…?" Nuriko asked.

"Silly! Didn't I already tell you? We're going to Sailo!"

~*~

"Youjin, what's today?"

"What?"

"We came here on a Saturday, right? So it must be Sunday." Nisou seemed sad…

"Why do you ask?" Youjin wondered.

"Because we have school tomorrow." Nisou sighed. "I can't miss it…I have an important test, and I need to give my science fair project to the teacher. He already looked over it the other day and said I had a chance of winning, and I'd really like to win."

"School…" Youjin whispered. Nothing would ever be the same. He was a different person now… "Maybe, after this, I'll have the courage to defend myself against Akutama. Maybe…" Nisou went to Rinrin.

"Nisou-san, you look sad," Rinrin pointed out.

"Rinrin…is there any way that I can go home? I have school tomorrow, and it's very important…and I really miss my mother. She's probably very worried about me. Is there any way…?

"Nisou-san, I wouldn't worry so much. Didn't you know? Time passes more quickly in this world than in yours. In your world, it's probably been just an hour since you left…maybe not even that."

"A…an hour? But…if time passes quicker here, why has it been nineteen years in our world, since Youjin's mom came out of the book, and only three and a half here? I don't understand…"

"Taiistukun waited until there was someone suitable for the role of Miko, and then had to wait for Youjin to grow old enough after Taka died. She sent you into the past, so you could correct the problem before it became too hard to handle."

"But then, why didn't Youjin's mother just make sure the spirits couldn't come here in the first place?" Nisou continued.

"Because she used her three wishes. And she had no idea at the time of what would happen. None of us did, until it was too late." Rinrin sighed. "Taiitsukun even tried sealing them away herself, but she couldn't do anything without the power of the gods."

"I…" Nisou paused for a moment and sorted the information in her head. "I think I understand." But she was still unhappy. Their journey had begun, but when would it end…?

~*~

Sleep came gratefully, but not without struggle. Nisou could not control the fears that loomed in her mind, waiting to jump on her at any moment. But soon she fell into an uneasy, dreamless sleep.

Youjin, on the other hand, was not so lucky. He found himself sitting on the ground, watching Nisou sleep peacefully. He stood up and walked around; the clearing they had found was really very quiet. He sat at the base of a tree and looked up at the sky; at the stars. There were never so many stars in Toyko…

It was all so quiet. Crickets hummed their soft melodies all around, and a gentle breeze softly brushed the trees above him. In that moment, Youjin realized that he could stay there forever, and not care. He wouldn't care…

"Can't sleep?" He jumped, not expecting the sudden interruption.

"No," he muttered dryly, looking at the person who had disturbed the tranquility. It was Nisou…but hadn't she been asleep, only moments before?

"Was that you who was watching me, then?" she smiled a little. "I wasn't asleep."

"Er, well…I mean-"

"Don't worry about it." She shrugged, sitting against the tree beside Youjin. "It's quiet here…I don't think I've ever heard so much nothingness in my life."

"Yeah," Youjin agreed, nodding.

"It's beautiful."

"I've never seen so many stars before in one place," Youjin admitted. "Except for one time, when I was still a little kid…" Nisou put her head on his shoulder. (A/N: this is referring to the final end of the OAVs with Miaka and Taka and their son…)

"Would you tell me about it if I asked you to?"

"I'd do anything you ask me to," Youjin replied. "After all, you're the Miko and I have to protect you." Nisou smiled.

"Then tell me what you can remember about the stars."

"I was about five years old…maybe a bit younger. It's the most vivid memory of my childhood that I have. My parents had taken me out to the country for the weekend and we stayed outside one night to watch the sun set. I was so excited when I saw all those stars come out…" He closed his eyes and smiled.

"Sounds nice…were you happy as a child?"

"Until my father died, I was. But after that…things kind of fell apart. What about you? What was your childhood like?"

"Quiet…very quiet. Kind of like this…maybe not as serene, though." Nisou looked at the sky again, and saw the moon. It was nearly full. "Wow, I was kinda expecting to see two or three moons here…" she said, giggling. "It's a bit odd to see things almost exactly like they are at home."

"Except home is never this peaceful," Youjin muttered.

"I like it. If I didn't miss Tokyo so much, I'd stay here forever."

"I was thinking the same thing," Youjin agreed. "But…we don't belong here."

"You're right. We'll have to go home once this is all over." She shivered just a bit. "It's a little chilly." Of course, she had been wearing summer-like clothes. Youjin smiled and put an arm around her.

"Better?" he asked.

"Much." She smiled contentedly and sighed.

Youjin looked down at her…she was radiant. Her fair face glowed softly with moonlight, and her blue eyes sparkled. He ran his hand through her short red hair and smiled. "This is it," he thought to himself. "Might as well go for it…"

He leaned down just a bit, slowly. Nisou lifted her head ever so slightly, like she was waiting…was she waiting? Youjin felt his heart pounding.

Their lips met briefly, and then parted, but her sweet taste remained with him. After a moment of eternity, he looked at her again, and she was smiling.

The night was short, and soon the sun had begun to rise. Nisou and Youjin had fallen asleep propped against each other, leaning against the tree. Nuriko woke first, and saw them. Smiling, she muttered,

"Kids…"