Fushigi Yuugi: Everlasting Story

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

This chapter took a bit longer than was expected. Might be a little bit weird at first 'cause of the switching back and forth… ^_^;; Please leave a review!!

Chapter 12: Light of Dawn

Rain. It had started abruptly from blue skies. Chichiri looked up through the trees and wondered if it had been more than a sudden change in the weather.

The others were trying their best to create some sort of shelter from the rain, while Youjin was still asleep. No one wished to disturb him.

Once a suitable shelter had been assembled, the seishi thought about what to do next.

"We can't sit here and wait out this storm," Nuriko pointed out. "Nisou's probably in danger."

"But we're unprepared to travel in weather like this," Hotohori said.

"Then we need stuff, don't we?" little Rinrin piped up. "Sorry 'bout not getting you anything earlier." The others looked at her.

"Whaddya mean?" Tasuki asked. Instead of explaining herself, Rinrin closed her eyes and started glowing. Soon, all of the warriors were staring at bags that appeared in their hands. He glared at the violet-haired girl and growled, "And you didn't do this in the fucking first place because…?"

"I needed to gain my strength," Rinrin explained. "The journey here from my home took a lot of power." Tasuki 'hmmph'ed in reply.

Nuriko was still worried about Youjin. He had been asleep nearly all day…was something wrong?

"Rinrin?" she asked. "Can you tell me if anything's wrong with Youjin?" Rinrin knelt before Youjin and studied his sleeping form. Suddenly she frowned.

"I know what it is," she whispered. "But you're not going to like it…"

~*~

"I'm home!" Youjin slammed the door behind him. His day at school had been, to say the least, strange. Passing all of his tests with the highest marks, not being chased home by Akutama…in fact, the boy had acted like Youjin's friend. And then, on the way home…

Nisou.

"Hi, Youjin," his mother called from the kitchen. Youjin smelled the delightful aroma of her cooking and went to see what the big deal is.

"Some holiday that I forgot?" Miaka turned and smiled at her son.

"It's your father's birthday." She went back to the oven. Youjin dropped his books on the floor, shocked.

"W-what?" he whispered.

"Ah! He'll be home from work soon. You'd better go get the table cleaned off while I finish what I'm doing here!" Youjin nodded and went to do what he was told, feeling numb all over.

"Something wrong, Youjin?" Miaka asked. He was acting rather strangely…

"Uh…no, I'm okay," Youjin whispered. He had forgotten why he was shaken up. "Of course it's Dad's birthday! I got his present last week…"

He shook his head and laughed.

He heard the door squeak open and turned around.

"Hey, Dad!" he shouted, waving at his father.

"Youjin!" his father said happily. "There's someone at the door for you." He stepped aside, revealing Nisou. Youjin's face turned bright red.

"N-Nisou!" he shouted in surprise.

"Hi, Youjin," the young girl said timidly. "I came to return this to you…" she held out a notebook for him. "I forgot that I never gave it back to you…"

"Thanks," Youjin said. He looked at his father, who nodded. "Hey, you want to stay for dinner?"

"I-I wouldn't want to be a bother…"

"It's no trouble!" Miaka said from the kitchen. "I made extra anyways, and I don't want it to go to waste!"

"Well, if you're sure…" Nisou smiled. "Then I'd love to stay!"

~*~

"An illusion," Tasuki muttered.

"There's only one person it could be, no da," Chichiri added. The others nodded in agreement.

"Tomo."

"But how the hell can we snap 'em out of it?" Tasuki asked. "We can't go anywhere when he's fucking unconscious, and I don't plan on carrying him the whole damned way to Sailo." They all looked at Rinrin.

"Any ideas?" Nuriko asked.

"If you know of anything we can do…" Hotohori agreed. "Then please tell us."

"I know of one way to wake him up," Rinrin told them quietly. "But there's a chance that it won't work."

"I don't fucking care! We can't just sit here, damn it! Tell us what it is!"

"Very well then…"

~*~

"That was great, Sukunami-san!" Nisou exclaimed.

"Please, you can call me Miaka."

"A-all right…Miaka."

"Oh, yeah!" Youjin jumped up. "I'll be right back!" He ran to his room and dove under his bed, retrieving a box wrapped in shiny blue paper. He ran back to where his family sat and put the box in front of his father. "Happy birthday, Dad!" Nisou looked at Youjin's father.

"It's your birthday?"

"Nisou, you may call me Taka," he said. "Yeah, it is." He put his son's gift beside him. "Youjin, I think it's better not to open this while you have a guest." He nodded to Nisou. Then, looking at Miaka, he stood up. "We'll disappear now." He smiled and winked as he and Miaka both went into their room.

"So…" Youjin said quietly.

"Your parents are really nice," Nisou told him.

"You think so?" Then he hesitated and added, "Yeah, I guess they are. What's your family like?"

"I don't know much about my dad," Nisou admitted. "He moved out a while ago. My mother…she really tries hard. She has to raise my older sister and me. But she helps out, you know? She's got a job and she saves all of the money from it for us. I love them both, but sometimes…"

"Sometimes?" Youjin repeated.

"I just need to get away from them sometimes," Nisou explained. "I…I don't know. The silence gets so annoying…no one wants to hurt anyone else, so neither of them really says anything."

"I-I guess that's rough."

"My mom always says I'm a lot like my dad…she looks so sad all the time…I can't stand to see her look so sad."

A flicker of memory. Youjin's hand trembled. He had heard that before…

"I was looking for a way not to go home, and I guess I got what I wanted."

"Why…why would you want to leave home?" Nisou sat down beside Youjin and looked at him.

"My mom," he whispered. "She always looks so sad. She thinks about my dad all the time. I can't stand seeing her look so sad…"

"Youjin? Are you okay?" Nisou tapped him on the shoulder, and he blinked, snapping out of the memory.

"Yeah," he whispered. "I was just thinking for a minute."

"Maybe I should go…you look tired."

"N-no! That's okay. I'm fine…you can stay for a little while, if you want."

"If you're sure you're okay…"

"I'm fine…don't worry about it." Nisou nodded.

"Alright." There was a long, tense silence. "So…"

"So."

He looked at Nisou, studying her every feature. God, she was beautiful. She pushed her short red hair behind her ear, looking at the ground with those crystal-clear blue eyes. A slight blush crept across her face. She suddenly looked up at him. He turned his eyes away.

"Plenty of fun, right?" Youjin joked. "Yeah, I'm just a great person to hand around with…never a dull moment around me! No way…" Nisou giggled, and he stopped. "What?"

"Nothing. I thought it was funny," she explained.

"Oh. I see." Nisou stood up.

"I really…I should be getting home. My mother will start worrying about me soon." Youjin nodded, looking out the window.

"I'll walk you home," he offered. "I mean…it's getting dark outside, and…well…" Nisou smiled.

"Thank you."

"Mom, Dad!" he called on his way out, "I'm gonna walk Nisou home, okay? I'll be back soon!"

Oh yeah, I'd like to give a great big thank-you to everyone who's reviewed so far!! Especially Kokkei, Lanen, and Starsaber, for reviewing twice or more. You guys inspire authors to write!! Arigatou! ^_^