Mima's Side of the Story
By: Satil

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None of the Fushigi Yuugi characters belong to me, but is rightfully owned by Watase Yuu. Only does the character Mima belong to me. And Mima would resemble me... I rather keep the same storyline. So don't sue me or anything if there's anything in here that you do NOT like. O.o;;;;; And I'd like to recieve reviews! ^_^ But no flames... @.x;;;
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~*Chapter 19*~
Thursday, August 1, 2002
-&-
Friday, August 2, 2002

The next day (or the next night?), I was just hanging around with Chichiri and Tasuki, sitting up in the tree they were sitting under.
"Mima, what are you thinking about up there?" Chichiri asked, fiddling around with his staff.
"Oh, nothing," I replied, swinging my legs back and forth. 'Just that when Miaka summons Suzaku and goes back home, where am I going?' I thought.
"Have you seen Tamahome?" Miaka asked, coming up to the three of us.
"He went that way with that obnoxious brat," Tasuki answered, seeming sort of, angry at the mention of Tamahome, knowing he was the little kid.
"What's wrong with Tasuki?" Miaka asked Chichiri.
"Tasuki offered to play with him," Chichiri started, "but the little kid said his face was scary and started crying."
"And when was my face scary!?" Tasuki exclaimed.
"Calm down, no da!" Chichiri made a clone of himself and tried calming Tasuki down, which made Miaka and I laugh, but she turned and left.
I looked up at the stars. "Oh, Chichiri. Look at the stars!"
"The sky is pretty, no da," he said.
"I've never seen such clear skies like this in a long time. Back at home, the skies never seem to be clear at all," I said, admiring this whole feeling. Since in Tokyo, it's so busy and full of buildings. But out here in Ancient China, it's a huge valley, with sheep grazing under the starry night sky.
"Why's that, no da?" Chichiri asked.
"It's just..." I sighed, "It's just how my world is."
"Mima," Tasuki said, sounding concerned. "Where are you going to go after Miaka summons Suzaku?"
"I uh... um," I stuttered, but I noticed Nuriko so I decided to change the subject. "Ah, Nuriko! Where are you going?"
The ex-crossdresser looked my way and smiled. "Oh, nowhere in particular. I just want to take a stroll in the woods. I'll be back before it gets too late, okay?"
"Okay," I answered.
"So don't worry!" he shouted as he walked further and further away.
"Mima, don't change the subject," Tasuki accused, sounding really upset.
"I honestly don't know where I'm going to go, Tasuki," I answered, looking down at my feet that I stopped kicking around.
"I-I should go, no da," Chichiri said, and started to get up.
"No, Chichiri. You can stay," I jumped down from my tree and landed hard on my feet. "I'm going in. I'm tired. Good night." I went inside the tent, passing by the mother that was letting us stay with her.
"Oh, darling, are you hungry?" She asked, drying off her hands with a cloth.
"No, it's all right," I answered. "Everything's all right."

The next morning, we got ready to leave to find the Shinzaho. I mounted Tasuki's horse that the people let us have.
"How long is it going to take, to head where we're going?" I asked him.
"I really don't know," Tasuki answered, busy packing everything and putting my backpack on the horse, checking that it won't fall off.
Then the little kid and Tasuki met eyes, and the corners of his mouth turned down.
"Good bye, scary faced Oniichan!" the kid said. "Don't scare any little kids okay?" I laughed at what he said.
"Eheheh..." Tasuki forced a chuckle, and waved good-bye, mumbling, "I'd love to punch that brat."
Everybody mounted their horses, with Miaka riding with Tamahome, Chiriko riding with Mitsukake. Only Nuriko and Chichiri had a horse of their own. Then we left the small village, heading to the busier part of Genbu's territory.
'We better find the Shinzaho,' I thought. 'Miaka screwed up big time earlier, and I know she needs to summon Suzaku to go back home.'

We entered a city that Tamahome said was called Tolan. Snow was all around us, making me shiver in the pink coat that Miaka let me borrow.
"I haven't seen snow since forever!" I exclaimed, my eyes brightening. "Back home, it snowed, but when it snows here, it looks so... beautiful."
"Is that so?" Tasuki said, looking back at me. He also looked around the city. "We finally made it."
"Konan rarely has snow," Nuriko said, looking up at the sky. "The weather's milder."
I stuck out my tongue.
Tamahome looked at me, raising an eyebrow. "What are you doing, Mima?"
I laughed, "To see if I could catch a snowflake with my tongue!" And so I stuck out my tongue again, feeling something cold land on it, then I put my tongue back in. "Ooh, it's so cold!" Miaka laughed at me.
"Oh, look, no da!" Chichiri pointed at a building that had a sign that said "Restaurant." "Let's go in there and decide what we should do, no da."
"Great idea, Chichiri," Chiriko agreed. So we went over to the restaurant and tied up our horses to some poles nearby. Then we went inside and got ourself a table.
Chichiri laid out a map. "We're at the edge of town, no da. We'd better spread out to find the Shinzaho, no da."
"Okay," we all agreed.
"Chiriko's a kid so I'll go with him, no da" Chichiri continued. "Tasuki seems irresponsible, so go with Mitsukake and Mima, no da."
"But Mima is younger than me!" Tasuki pointed out.
"Yeah, well I have more common sense than you do," I defended, "Moron."
"Shuddup..." Tasuki mumbled.
"Of course, I'll go with Miaka," Tamahome said. "But I think Mima should go with us, too. I don't think Tasuki is responsible enough to watch over her, either. And Mitsukake will be busy on watching over Tasuki."
Tasuki crossed his arms, pissed that everybody thought he was irresponsible.
Miaka was just pigging out, when she realized Nuriko didn't have anybody to go with. "Oh, but what about Nuriko?"
"Oh, yeah, that's right," I said.
Nuriko stared down at his bracelets, but then looked at Miaka, Tamahome, and I. "I want to go with Miaka, Mima, and Tamahome," Nuriko smiled, looking at us. "I've got to protect Miaka in Hotohori-sama's place, anyway."
Just then, a drunk man came up and looked at Nuriko. "Oh, hey pretty young lady," the man said, taking a hold of Nuriko's chin and making him face him. "You're a looker. Why don't ya join me in a drink?"
Nuriko bashed him over the head with his chair, then set the chair down and sat on it. "How rude!" Nuriko complained. "Don't be underestimating me."
Tasuki rested his chin on his left hand, his other holding his sake. "He says you're beautiful," he teased. "Maybe it's better if you don't go with those two girls, because there's loads of drunks about." We all looked around, and for sure, he was right. A lot of drunk men were raising their drinks in the air and looking at Nuriko, Miaka, and I, asking us from afar if they want us to join them.
"True enough," Tamahome agreed. "Three girls attracting those kind of creeps is a bit more than I can stand."
"So the problem is, that I look like a woman, huh?" Nuriko said, closing his eyes in irritation. "So it'd be better if I didn't look like one, is that right?!" He opened his eyes and got out his sword. We stared at him, wondering what he was going to do next.
And, to our surprise... he cut off his long, beautiful, purple braided hair.
"Nuriko!" I gasped.
"Nani!?" Tasuki almost choked on his drink. Everybody was staring at him in shock.
"You wasted it," Tamahome breathed.
"Nuriko, is it okay?" Miaka asked. "You can't cross-dress anymore."
"It's all right," Nuriko said, looking at his braid in his hand. "Told you, it's about time to quit being gay."
I looked at Nuriko, seeing the big difference between him having long hair and short hair. Then I said, being annoying, "So... you were never really gay?!"
"I told you I was a cross-dresser!" he barked at me, but then continued. "Besides, we'll be fighting the Seiryuu Seishi so I can't be prissy anymore." I admired Nuriko's boldness, and wise decision. At that point, I wished I could be bold and wise like him, instead of a little fourteen year old girl striving to be worthy of being something in this Suzaku group, other than just a backup animal guardian.
"The Seiryuu Seishi, huh?" Tamahome glared. "Yeah, if we meet up with bad luck, we'll have to face it."
"Na no da, the problem is once we spread out, how are we going to communicate?" Chichiri asked. "If we use magic, we'll give ourselves away, no da."
"I have these," Chiriko reached into his bag, and then pulled out five sticks.
"Firecrackers?" I asked.
"No, they're flares," he corrected. "If anyone finds out about the Shinzaho, set them off. We should be able to see them from anywhere in the city."
"And, I'm also an animal, aren't I?" I began, taking a rather large drink of sake, enjoying the taste. 'And I said I would never drink,' I thought. "I could become a bird and tell the others, you know."
"But you're using magic, aren't you?" Nuriko asked.
"Well, no da," Chichiri started to explain. "You can sense her chi, but it's so low when she becomes an animal like a bird, that only us Suzaku Seishi could recognize it, no da. No other Seishi could because they won't be familiar with such lowness on another Seishi, no da."
"But that Nakago figure," I said, "even he can't sense me? He looks like he knows everything, like when we were getting back Tamahome."
"I'm not sure, no da," Chichiri answered. "But I highly doubt it, no da."
"Perfect," I grinned, but stopped when I began to get the shivers, and I hated the shivers.
"What's the matter, Mima?" Tasuki asked, putting a hand on my shoulder.
"I only got the shivers, that's all," I stared out the window.
"Well, we better start on it," Tamahome suggested. We all agreed, so we went our seperate ways, in the groups we decided to be in: Tasuki and Mitsukake in one group, Tamahome, Miaka, Nuriko, and I in another, and then Chichiri and Chiriko as a duo.
"Nuriko," I called, and ran up to him so I won't be left behind. "How are we going to be able to find the Shinzaho?"
"We should be able to find clues," he answered. Then he pointed at a monument. "Hey, hey, look! Take a look at this monument!"
"What the hell?" I stared at it. "Looks a bunch of worm tracks. Yuck."
"That's Genbu on top, so what it says may have clues, don't you think?" he answered.
"Genbu's a turtle?" I asked.
"I agree with Mima. The script looks like worms," Tamahome said.
And old woman was passing us when Miaka stopped her, asking her if she could read it for us.
"Oh, this?" the lady said. "These ancient characters were done away with two hundred years ago."
"Ancient characters?" Miaka repeated.
"Only a few scholars are able to read it now," the lady finished.
Another man's voice added, "I know a fellow who can read it now." We turned to where the voice came from, and a man, maybe about eighteen to twenty-five leaned a against a wall. He was grody and thuggish looking, and instantly, I didn't trust him. "You people are travelers?"
"There's really someone able to read it?" Miaka asked, her hopes getting high.
"Yeah, my dad," he answered. "I'll take you to him. Just come with me." He started to head where his dad was.
"I wouldn't go with him if I were you," the old woman said. "He's a useless hoodlum. His dad may have been a scholar, but he's nothing more than a reprobate now."
"If you don't want to come," the man said, "then suit yourself." And he continued on.
"I'll go with you," Tamahome volunteered, and began to follow him. But as he passed Miaka, and told her to wait here with Nuriko and me.
"Nuriko, Mima," he addressed, "Miaka is going to stay here with you." And he left, following the hooligan.
"Okay," Nuriko and I said in unison.
The three of us sat down on the stairs leading to the monument.
"Tamahome's late," Miaka complained, fifteen minutes later after a moment of awkward silence.
"What're you talking about?" Nuriko asked.
"I know," I agreed. "You just said that a moment ago, didn't you?" I realized how much energy it took me to say that, so I decided to be quiet. I was being tired and lazy.
"Hey Nuriko," Miaka started, "don't you regret cutting your hair off?"
"It's all right," Nuriko answered. "I'll bury this hair as my sister Kourin."
"But I've got to tell you, Nuriko, you look great with a hair cut," Miaka complimented.
"Yeah, you do," I agreed, looking at him with awe.
"Ah, you just realized my special appeal," Nuriko boasted.
"Geeze, if we praise you, you get all cocky," Miaka sneered, but then we all laughed.
"Say, Miaka," I said.
"Yeah?" She replied.
"What are you going to do after Suzaku's summoned?" I asked.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, I know you and Tamahome can't bear to seperate, and I don't mean to pry, but what are you going to do?"
"Oh..." She fixed something with her shoes. "Well, last night, I decided that I'm going to stay here with Tamahome." She smiled at me.
"Nani!?" I shook. "But, where am I going to go?! Is Suzaku going to send me back home?! Am I going to have to stay here!?"
"Relax, Mima," Nuriko said. "Remember what the chief said? Genbu no Miko was sent back to her world, and since you're from the same world as Miaka, you'll be sent back, too."
I was relieved. "That's good news." I sighed, a wave of relaxation went through me.
Yet again, another short moment of silence.
But then, Miaka's eyes widened and her feet hovered over the ground.
"Nani?" Nuriko asked. "What's wrong, Miaka?! Cold?"
"No... the chills," she replied.
"Chills?" I repeated. 'Something, no doubt about it, that something is going to happen. Something really bad,' I thought.
"I'm worried about Tamahome," Miaka admitted. "I'll go check up on him."
"Oh, Miaka! Me too!" Nuriko got up. "Mima, come on!"
I got up too. But Miaka began to walk faster and ahead of us, but then stopped. She turned around with a concerned look, and I saw in her eyes, a reflection of a wolf.
Then Nuriko and I spotted something coming out of nowhere but the sky above us, and ready to pounce on our Miaka.