Hub of the Cycle
by Laly Konstantin
Introduction - the pull
Disclaimer: Don't own Fushigi Yuugi, or the ancient Chinese constellations. But you know that anyway, and i have a party to get to. :-P
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'You really think this will work?' Two scrolls clutched in her hand, a young dark-haired girl leaned back around the corner of the old monastery. 'You think we can get to that world without a miko?'
'C'mon, take a chance.' Flashing a winning grin, the lanky boy halfway down the corridor motioned for her to follow. 'Even if the legends are wrong, so what? We'll hunt something out.'
'I didn't really mean we should go back,' the girl replied defensively, hastening to move again. 'I just wondered if you really believe it all.'
The two made their way to the roof, Tei opening most of the doors and Shoshi mumbling as she went through. 'Where last a god was summoned, there must be a visitor from that land...' she accented her words with more scroll-rustling. 'Must be hard for a Konan boy like you.'
The view from the roof was breathtaking, hills and paths winding down to a lovely village wrapped in the bloom of spring. The building itself was less picturesque. Tei imagined the place should have a glow or something, but maybe it looked so gloomy because Seiryuu had been sealed away.
Obviously, Suzaku's summoning ground would glow. And he'd be the one to see it.
Little did he know that other eyes, watching from the village below, saw the entire building wrapped in a vortex of red and green that contracted, and flattened out, until it formed a star between the two silhouettes, tiny and weak-looking, at its top.
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Tei's feet rematerialised under him, and he backed into something soft. That something soft yelped, and collapsed in a heap as he turned around.
'What the hell???' Tei looked around in amazement. People, everywhere, and giving him rather strange looks. He heard Shoshi gasp, and looked down to see her gaping, probably wide enough to catch that turtle god of hers whole.
'This is it, this is absolutely the world in the shell.'
'The what?' Tei responded, immediately shifting attention back to the strange world. 'Is this the world of the mikos?' He breathed deeply, and immediately coughed on the unfamiliar aroma of car exhaust. 'Ugh.'
'It's beautiful,' Shoshi murmured. 'Hey, do you feel a pull?' she asked, quite seriously.
Unfortunately, she was instinctively tugging on Tei's long tunic, and he misunderstood. 'Of course I feel a pull, dolt! You testing if this is a dream or something?' He elbowed her on the head.
'Ow!' Shoshi winced, then pushed herself off the ground. 'That's *not* what I meant. I mean, a pull.. that way.' She pointed. 'Like somebody calling to me...'
Tei blinked a little - Gods, the sunlight here was strange - and looked where she was pointing. 'Umm... now that you mention it, I'd rather go that way.' He pointed in the opposite direction. 'And it's not really a call. More like a gong right by the side of my head...'
Shoshi guiltily pushed away the pleasant mental image of herself bashing a very large gong exactly where he'd specified, and shrugged. 'Let's go your way first, then. I mean, seishi were pulled to miko, right? So maybe we're supposed to follow our instinct, here.'
'Um, great.' Pushing a hand through thick white hair, Tei blinked at the vehicles moving rapidly through the streets. 'Now how do we cross?'
To be continued...
by Laly Konstantin
Introduction - the pull
Disclaimer: Don't own Fushigi Yuugi, or the ancient Chinese constellations. But you know that anyway, and i have a party to get to. :-P
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
'You really think this will work?' Two scrolls clutched in her hand, a young dark-haired girl leaned back around the corner of the old monastery. 'You think we can get to that world without a miko?'
'C'mon, take a chance.' Flashing a winning grin, the lanky boy halfway down the corridor motioned for her to follow. 'Even if the legends are wrong, so what? We'll hunt something out.'
'I didn't really mean we should go back,' the girl replied defensively, hastening to move again. 'I just wondered if you really believe it all.'
The two made their way to the roof, Tei opening most of the doors and Shoshi mumbling as she went through. 'Where last a god was summoned, there must be a visitor from that land...' she accented her words with more scroll-rustling. 'Must be hard for a Konan boy like you.'
The view from the roof was breathtaking, hills and paths winding down to a lovely village wrapped in the bloom of spring. The building itself was less picturesque. Tei imagined the place should have a glow or something, but maybe it looked so gloomy because Seiryuu had been sealed away.
Obviously, Suzaku's summoning ground would glow. And he'd be the one to see it.
Little did he know that other eyes, watching from the village below, saw the entire building wrapped in a vortex of red and green that contracted, and flattened out, until it formed a star between the two silhouettes, tiny and weak-looking, at its top.
----------------------------
Tei's feet rematerialised under him, and he backed into something soft. That something soft yelped, and collapsed in a heap as he turned around.
'What the hell???' Tei looked around in amazement. People, everywhere, and giving him rather strange looks. He heard Shoshi gasp, and looked down to see her gaping, probably wide enough to catch that turtle god of hers whole.
'This is it, this is absolutely the world in the shell.'
'The what?' Tei responded, immediately shifting attention back to the strange world. 'Is this the world of the mikos?' He breathed deeply, and immediately coughed on the unfamiliar aroma of car exhaust. 'Ugh.'
'It's beautiful,' Shoshi murmured. 'Hey, do you feel a pull?' she asked, quite seriously.
Unfortunately, she was instinctively tugging on Tei's long tunic, and he misunderstood. 'Of course I feel a pull, dolt! You testing if this is a dream or something?' He elbowed her on the head.
'Ow!' Shoshi winced, then pushed herself off the ground. 'That's *not* what I meant. I mean, a pull.. that way.' She pointed. 'Like somebody calling to me...'
Tei blinked a little - Gods, the sunlight here was strange - and looked where she was pointing. 'Umm... now that you mention it, I'd rather go that way.' He pointed in the opposite direction. 'And it's not really a call. More like a gong right by the side of my head...'
Shoshi guiltily pushed away the pleasant mental image of herself bashing a very large gong exactly where he'd specified, and shrugged. 'Let's go your way first, then. I mean, seishi were pulled to miko, right? So maybe we're supposed to follow our instinct, here.'
'Um, great.' Pushing a hand through thick white hair, Tei blinked at the vehicles moving rapidly through the streets. 'Now how do we cross?'
To be continued...
