Disclaimer: The characters of Fushigi Yuugi belong to Yuu Watase. But any new characters belong to me. ^_^
Chapter 16: Lost BondsTasuki looked from Rinrin to Youjin and back again.
"Do whatever you have to," he said quietly.
"What will that do to him?" Hotohori asked.
"He won't be hurt," Rinrin explained. "But…I don't know what it could do to his mind. He has felt Nisou's presence since she was taken away, and even before that. He may panic."
"But…there's not much chance of mental harm done?" Chiriko queried, looking at Youjin's still form.
"No."
"There's nothing else we can do, no da. He has to come with us to find Nisou."
"Well if he isn't gonna get hurt and he won't go fuckin' crazy, I don't see why we shouldn't," Tasuki muttered. "And he'll wake up if Rinrin does this." The others looked at Youjin in silence before Hotohori said,
"I think we all agree." He nodded at Rinrin. "Do it." Rinrin nodded, lowering her head in concentration. She whispered a few foreign words and looked sadly at Youjin.
"I'm sorry." She passed a small hand over his face and drew back when Youjin's facial muscles tensed into a frown.
"N-Nisou…" he whispered hoarsely, and opened his eyes.
~*~
During the entire painful ordeal, she had felt him there, beside her. He had protected her mind and heart from the silence that was surrounding her in this dark, damp cell. Soi could torture her body countless times, but Youjin had been there to protect her heart. They were bonded together by some power unknown to them, perhaps fate. And, as long as Youjin was there with her, she could take any kind of pain.
But then, as if the line that bonded them had been cut, Nisou felt alone.
She sat up and looked around…Youjin was gone. She couldn't feel him. A grave thought chilled her to the bone…what if he had been killed?
She pulled her arms in close to her chest and slowed her raspy breathing. Each breath was more torturous that the last, but all she could think of was Youjin.
"Please…please be okay."
~*~
At first, all he could see was the blurry outline of a face. All he could feel was a cold loneliness…and panic. Something was missing. He blinked once, and then twice, as his vision cleared.
"He's fuckin' awake!" the one standing over him shouted.
"T-Tasuki…" Youjin whispered. "Don't talk so loud."
"You're gonna be okay, kid!" Tasuki laughed.
"And don't call me kid."
"Well, it's good to see that you're back with us," Nuriko said from nearby." Youjin heard her and risked an attempt to sit up. This was a bad idea, as a wave of dizziness overtook him.
"You should be a bit more careful, no da. Trying to sit up probably wasn't a good idea anyways, no da."
"Chichiri…you could've told me a bit sooner," Youjin muttered. After a few moments he regained his senses and tried again to sit up, this time more slowly. He succeeded and looked around.
"It's a good thing that you're awake," Nuriko told him.
"W-what happened? What's going on?" Suddenly, he shivered and added, "Where's Nisou?"
"She's…" Nuriko bit her lip and looked at the others.
"We still don't know," Mitsukake said. Youjin stood up slowly.
"We should go find her as soon as we can," he said. Looking at Chichiri, he asked, "You said earlier that she was in Sailo?"
"Well, that's where her aura was, no da. So I'm guessing…"
"Alright, we're going."
~*~
"I can't feel you now, but I know you're coming."
Her heart beat heavily in her chest; her breathing was shallow, ragged. Amidst the chaos in her mind, one last light of hope mingled. Her body was so numb now that she couldn't feel the pain anymore.
Even though the connection had broken between her and Youjin, Nisou could feel him, and her friends, coming…coming, she hoped, to find her.
"It doesn't matter whether they come for you or not," Soi said mockingly, "They'll never get past me." Nisou glared at Soi with hatred in her eyes.
"Shut up," she hissed.
"They'll be no trouble to deal with, really," Soi continued, ignoring the girl's words. "It's too bad you never got to say a formal goodbye."
"Shut up!" Nisou shouted again.
"Or maybe I'll let them see you again…I'll kill them when they get here, and let you watch."
"Stop it!" Nisou cried. "Stop it, stop it, stop it! Y-you'll never, ever be able to get them! I won't let you!" A bright reddish light surrounded her and filled her body with warmth. Ignoring the agonizing pain that shot through her body, she slowly stood, and faced Soi. "I won't let you hurt them," she whispered, and the bright crimson glow exploded, filling the room with the power of Suzaku.
~*~
Chichiri looked up at the sky and frowned. "That power…Suzaku's power?"
"What's wrong, Chichiri?" Youjin asked, looking at the monk. Chichiri looked back at the young man and shook his head.
"It's nothing, no da. I just feel that…that we have to hurry."
"Hey, Chichiri, why don'tcha just pop us all over there with yer kesa (aka tunic, I think ^_^)? It'd be a hell of a lot faster!" Tasuki shouted. Youjin looked back at Chichiri.
"You can do that?!" he asked.
"Tasuki, if I did that, we'd be found, no da!" Chichiri pointed out.
"They probably fuckin' know where we are already! What the hell do we have to lose?" Chichiri raised an eyebrow, and then grinned at Tasuki.
"Well, no da, I suppose we could get there a lot faster…"
"And that way, we can find Nisou faster! C'mon, Chichiri! Please!" Youjin pleaded.
"All right, no da," Chichiri said at last, and spread his kesa on the ground. "Everyone get on, no da."
