Hidden Destiny

Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own anything so please don't sue ^_^

"Are you sure this is the right way?" Miaka asked for the thousandth time.

Nuriko glared at her over his shoulder. "Yes, I'm sure."

"Well, we've been traveling for three days now. It didn't take this long to get there last time."

"Oh for Suzaku's…..look, we might have gotten a bit off track, but I know exactly where we are now. So quit worrying."

The young priestess nodded and silently lay her head on Nuriko's back. The young man sighed and quickly became lost in his own thoughts. Miaka was right, it hadn't taken them this long when they were traveling with Hotohori. The time had come for him to finally admit, at least to himself, that they were lost. Not only were they lost but Miaka was acting strangely. She ate only enough to keep her strength up and barely talked at all.

When we finally find Tasuki, I'll be sure to hit him into the nearest wall. The thought cheered him up considerably and he grinned at the silent girl over his shoulder. "Hey, why don't we stop for awhile? The horse could use a rest and I don't know about you but my rear sure is sore from all this riding."

"Okay." Came the quiet reply.

Frowning, Nuriko stopped the horse under a large tree and hopped down, offering up a hand to Miaka. After slipping from the horse she took a seat under the tree, bringing her knees to her chest and resting her chin on them. She fixed her gaze on something in the distance and sat there, slowly rocking back and forth. She's losing it. Was Nuriko's thought as he took a seat next to her. Laying a hand on her shoulder, he squeezed lightly. "Are you alright?"

Miaka looked at him and smiled. That smile pierced his heart for it was only a ghost of what it used to be, the corners of her mouth barely tilting. "I'm fine."

The violet-haired seishi bit his lip, considering his next course of words. "What if….well, what if we find him and he won't listen to you?" He finally asked softly.

The smile on her face widened, but still didn't reach her eyes. "Don't be silly Nuriko, of course he'll listen to me. It was just a misunderstanding that's all. I'll explain what happened and he'll laugh. He'll take me in his arms and kiss me and everything will be alright again." She stated with more confidence than she actually felt.

Nuriko smiled slightly, and pushed a stray lock of hair from her face. "I hope so." Putting his arm around her shoulder he pulled her close. "But you know how Tasuki is. He's hurt and he's angry and I doubt he'll listen to reason."

Pulling away from him slightly, Miaka finally let the pain she was feeling show in her eyes. "He has to, Nuriko. If he doesn't I….I'll just want to die. I'm nothing without him."

"What happened anyway?" The night she had come to him, Miaka had failed to explain why she needed to find the fiery-headed seishi immediately. Over the past few days, Nuriko had been able to pull bits and pieces of information, but still didn't understand exactly what had happened.

Resting her chin back on her knees, Miaka began rocking slowly once again. "Tamahome came to my room and said he knew about Tasuki and me. He…he forced me on the bed…." She paused and bit her lip, reluctant to relive the memory of how Tamahome had been so unlike himself.

Nuriko gasped. "He…he didn't…"

"No!" She quickly defended. "No, he didn't do…that. He only kissed me; he was desperate, you see. I guess he thought if he kissed me I'd change my mind." Shrugging slightly, she dropped her knees and clasped her hands in her lap. "He wasn't himself; he was hurt, and rightly so. If I had just told him about us from the beginning…..but no, he found out by overhearing you and I talking that day I confessed to Tasuki. He's known all that time…." She shook her head and tears began to run down her cheeks. "Anyway, after….he was crying and I was trying to comfort him. We were still on the bed when Tasuki walked in. He saw us there….I know what it looked like. You should have seen his face, Nuriko. He had picked me a flower….from the gardens. I saw him drop it after he…."

Her voice broke as her shoulders began to shake from the force of her grief. "I'm so stupid!" She shouted, hitting the ground beside her. "If I hadn't been a coward, if I had just told Tamahome that it was over. But no, instead I kept them both. I kept telling Tasuki I'd tell him. Tomorrow, I said, I'll tell him tomorrow, I promise. And he was so patient. But I didn't tell him and I ended up hurting them both."

"Miaka…" The stunned young man next to her breathed, reaching out a hand to comfort her.

"He….he said he wished he'd never laid eyes on me." She continued her voice just above a whisper. "That hurts more than anything because I know that he would be better off if he hadn't. I wanted to die when he said that. The best part of me did die in that moment and the only way I can get it back is to make him understand. I don't deserve him." Shaking her head she looked back at her silent friend. "But I will do anything to make him listen to me. To make him love me again."

Nuriko nodded, silent tears running down his face, as he realized that sitting before him was the epitome of love, and that never, in his eighteen years, had he ever seen anything as beautiful. He knew in that moment that he would die for her. Not because he was a Suzaku seishi but because of everything she stood for. Love was Miaka's driving force, and a force that would save them all.

"I love you." He said simply, his voice barely audible. It wasn't a declaration of love in its usual form, but rather a vow to stand by and defend her always- to be her champion in any way she needed, and to always be her friend.

Miaka nodded in understanding, and reached up to lightly caress his cheek. "And I love you, Nuriko. I love you all and I would die for each and every one of you. That's why it hurts so much to know that you would all have been better off without having ever known me. I've done nothing but bring pain into your lives. First Hotohori, then you, now Tamahome and Tasuki."

"Hush." Putting a hand on her mouth he shook his head. "All we want is for you to be happy. Tamahome is the one who told you to come after Tasuki, isn't he?" At her nod he continued. "And well, Tasuki loves you, we both know that. He's just a stubborn idiot who says things before he thinks. As for His Highness, and me we'll be fine. None of us hold any grudges against you, Miaka. I'm actually indebted to you for helping me realize who I am. For so long I've been Kourin that I forgot about that little boy named Ryuen. You gave that back to me." He smiled gently, pulling her into his embrace. "Everything will be fine. Together, we'll make Tasuki listen to reason."

Wrapping her arms around his waist, Miaka hugged him tightly. "Thank you, Nuriko."

"Well, well, well." A familiar voice boomed from above them. "Look who we got here."

They jumped apart quickly and got to their feet, staring into the smiling face of Kouji.

Tasuki turned from the window and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. Standing around crying like a baby wasn't going to help matters. The best thing he could do was forget about her.

However, every time he told himself that, her face came to mind and his heart started to throb with pain. His hands fisted at his sides; forgetting Miaka would be much easier said than done. Picking up a heavy ink blotter from the desk he hurled it across the room, taking satisfaction in the sound it made as it hit the wall.

He didn't need her. He had always said girls were nothing but trouble and she had proved his point. He was better off just staying here and taking over leadership. Being a bandit was something he understood. What he didn't understand was the hollow, empty feeling that took over when he thought of a life without her.

"Dammit!" He exclaimed, smacking a fist into his other hand as he paced the room.

The image of Tamahome and Miaka, locked in a lover's embrace rose to the forefront of his mind and he sat down hard on the nearest chair. His head dropped to his hands as fresh tears welled up in his eyes and his face flushed with anger.

How could she? After all the plans they had made and all the times she had sworn her love to him, how could she so heartlessly turn back to Tamahome? A sound that might have been mistaken for laughter escaped his throat. Who was he kidding? She had done the same to Tamahome, so why not him?

"Knock, knock. Who's there? Genrou's best buddy, Kouji, that's who. Oh, why didn't ya say so? Come right in! Thanks." The door opened and then quietly closed. Tasuki glanced up to see a grinning Kouji standing in front of the closed door.

"I thought I told ya I wanted t'be alone." He muttered, getting to his feet and resuming his spot in front of the window.

"Yeah, well, we got some hostages I thought ya'd wanna check out."

"Can't the leadership duties wait until tomorrow at least? Shit, man, I just got back."

"These are special hostages."

Turning from the window, Tasuki crossed his arms over his chest. "Yeah? What's so special about em?"

"I might as well tell ya- it's that Priestess girl and the gay guy."

The color drained from the fiery-headed bandit's face as his arms dropped to his sides. Taking an involuntary step forward, he caught himself and resumed his stance. "So what? I don't wanna see em. Let em go and tell em I'm stayin' here." Turning around he clenched his jaw painfully.

"Ya sure? That girl seems pretty upset."

"Ya know her name is Miaka and I don't care how upset she looks. I don't wanna have anythin' t'do with her."

"Well, the guy wanted me t'tell ya that Miaka ain't been eating. Now even I know that ain't right. Hell, she ate almost all our food last time she was here." He chuckled slightly at the memory.

Tasuki closed his eyes tightly, his stance stiffening. "I don't care." He said in a clipped tone. "Tell em t'go away and don't bother me with them anymore."

"But Genrou…"

"I mean it!" He shouted, whirling around.

Kouji sucked in a breath at the pain in saw in his friend's eyes and nodded slowly. "Yeah, sure, anythin' ya say, Genrou." Reaching behind him, he opened the door and backed out, closing it gently, then stood staring at the wooden surface of the door. as he pondered the situation

He sure as hell didn't want to go back and tell Miaka what Genrou had said. He knew she would end up crying and he would hate himself for being the cause of it.

With a heavy, drawn out sigh, Kouji turned and reluctantly made his way back to the rooms that had been assigned to the young girl and her friend.

On the other side of the door, Tasuki stood still in the same spot, his chest heaving as he tried to hold back the tears. Why was she here? Hadn't she done enough damage already? He couldn't help the small surge of hope that blossomed in his heart but he quickly snuffed it out. He would leave. He knew she wouldn't listen to Kouji and would insist on seeing him, so he would just have to be gone before Kouji could cave in.

Flinging open the shuttered window, he jumped to the ground below, glancing back only once before disappearing into the dark night.