Title: Sweet Love (1)

Title: Sweet Love (1)

Author: Yih

Written: March 2001

Dedication: To all those Tasuki x Miaka// Tama-Taka x Miaka fics that made me realize there needs to be more Hotohori x Miaka!

Disclaimer: All rights belong to Yu Watase.

Review if you want more!_!

Side Note: This is based on the manga and starts where Miaka tries to run to the emperor to get the jewels. ^_^'.

Part 1: When Fate Collides…

She must be so beautiful. She has to be--to be the chosen one from our god, Suzaku. I wonder what she looks like. Will she have long sweeping dark hair or will it be silvery like a long lost fairy? Will her eyes be filled with the mysteries of the our land? Will her body be tall and graceful? Will her body be simple perfection? I wonder what she is like… Will she be full of gentleness and peacefulness? Will she be smart and funny, full of undeniable knowledge?

Will she be all that I have hoped for everyday of my life? Will she come in my lifetime or will it be another's? Will she be my priestess to guard with my life… or will it be my descendent's duty to protect her? Will I even see her? I want to see her so much. I've never wanted anything more in my life than I want her. She is what I've been looking for, waiting for, yearning for… all of my life--

"Your majesty?"

Hotohori glanced at his advisor, distracted from his reverie.

"We are almost at the palace gates," the advisor explained the reason for disrupting his emperor.

He nodded and folded his hands to his lap, not even bothering to look out at the crowds of people that stood to watch the emperor's entourage go through the busy marketplace in Konan. He sighed as he thought to himself, will this loneliness inside me ever cease? Will my only friendship come from myself? Why did I have to be the emperor? I would have prefered anything to this life… Anything at all. If only she would come… right this moment. Then maybe…

He didn't notice a girl dressed in strange clothing running up to his carriage because he was so occupied with his thoughts. He was about to sigh again when he heard a distinctively female voice shout, "hey! Are you the emperor?!?"

He was surprised because normally he never talked to anyone outside the imperial court. "Who is this??" he asked gently.

"I need you to do me a favor! I'd really appreciate it if you could spare me two gems from your crown." The girl grabbed Hotohori's arm to her side and explained the favor, "somebody saved my life and I gotta pay him back! You can spare them! What's the problem? Hold on a sec!"

Who is this girl? Who does she think she is? Why is she clinging to me like that? Does she really expect me to wait? I'm the emperor!

"No one is rude to the emperor," exclaimed an imperial guard. "KILL HER!!"

Hotohori pulled his arm back into his carriage and was too startled by what had happened to give an order for himself. When he finally got his thoughts organized enough to order them not to kill the girl, a young man had leapt from the crowd and grabbed the girl, keeping her from the coming danger, pummeling a few guards to do so. Hotohori's purpose for not killing the girl for her insolence was so he could question why she was acting so peculiar from the usual politeness of his subjects. She was treating him as if he were a normal person!

He smiled to himself as he heard the young man yell at the girl, "are you tryin' to get killed?!?"

He heard the astonishment in the girl's voice as she said in disbelief, "you saved me again!?"

That must be the man that she wants to repay him with my jewels. He is very brave to go up against the imperial guards like that…

"Thanks… but that means I have to give you three gems now," the girl cried out with frustration.

Hotohori heard no more of the conversation between the two because they had started to talk in lower voices. He then saw them trying to escape by running into the crowd. He gestured to his servants that he wanted to follow them from within his carriage. He heard his guards exclaim aloud, "there they are!! Bastard! You'll pay for that!!"

Hotohori caught a brief glimpse of the girl in the young man's arms just before a red light came out of no where. The girl started to fade from the young man's arms. What is going on? he thought. Who is this girl? If she was an enchantress why didn't she save herself from the men? But how is she doing that if she's not an enchantress… Could it be that she is…

"Just like when I came here…" the girl said.

He heard the young man shout, "HEY!"

"… my body's disappearing!!"

Could she be the… young lady of the legends? The one I have been waiting for to--to come?

He heard his advisor say with astonishment, "your majesty! That girl is disappearing into the red light!!"

"She's vanishing!!"

"She's a monster!!"

He wasn't sure if she was the young lady of the legends. But where has she gone? Has she somehow gone back to her world? Will I ever see her again? Or is she just a clever enchantress trying to escape after creating a heap of trouble? Before he could think too much, the girl had reappeared in the young man's arms. If she's an enchantress, he thought with a smile, she's not a very good one.

"Uh… I guess I'm back," she murmured, holding on tightly to the young man.

Hotohori heard the young man ask, "what… are you??"

"Detain the girl and the young man," Hotohori quickly commanded. He didn't want her to disappear again and he didn't want any harm to come to either of them. Besides he needed to investigate the matter more before he was sure if this was the young lady of the legends.

"Huh? Yes, sire!" said the head guard.

The imperial guards positioned their weapons toward the two threateningly. He heard the girl cry out with alarm, "TAMAHOME…!!"

He felt a pang of sympathy.

Even if I wasn't from another world… I'd still be scared if I saw twenty of the best guards in the imperial army pointing their weapons at me. And she is only a girl, even if that young man can fight better than anyone I've ever seen before in my life, the numbers are against them, but he was brave. This should not have been so public, but if it weren't… would this possibility that she might be the Priestess of Suzaku even emerge? If she hadn't been here, if I hadn't been here… would these thoughts be in head if I hadn't made that silly wish?

Was it fate that brought her in front of me? Or just my own wishful thinking? I feel something for her though. I've never felt anything for anyone. Why is she different? Is it because I think she is the young lady that will be the Priestess of Suzaku? Is my mind playing games with me? Is that why I feel the way I do about her? Is it because I want her to be the young lady of the legends so that… I won't be so lonely anymore?

What if she's not… the Priestess… will these feelings just fade? Do I feel this way for her… or for the fact that she might be the girl I've been in love with since before--before I can remember…

Author's Note: AHAHAHAHAHAH!!!! I have finally started a fanfic about Fushigi Yuugi –tackled CCS, almost done with NGE, 2 oneshots for DA, and now FY!- (partially because I'm giving up on CCS Reminiscent because of the STINKY reviews). If I don't get any reviews, I won't be writing any more of this fanfic. Because I know I write well enough to get some kind of review. I'd really appreciate a thoughtful review with thoughts of what might be coming up next or something like that. Thanks for reading!

Remember: Reviewing is Doing the Giving to Caring authors Slaving over Working on Writing fanfics!