Always…
Chapter Two
Disclaimer: I don't own Fushigi Yuugi or its characters.
Nicholas caught the young woman in his arms and gently lowered her to the floor. Cradling her head in his lap, he gazed down at her delicate features, all the while wondering at the strange pulling deep inside of him. She seemed familiar to him but he knew he had never met her before. His eyes searched her face, trying to place where he had seen her. She moaned softly and opened her eyes, meeting those above her.
"I know I'm handsome, but I didn't expect you to faint at the site of me." Nicholas said with a grin that quickly faded when he saw the panicked look in the woman's eyes. "Hey, are you all right?"
Miaka nodded. "I-I'm fine, thank you." She struggled to sit upright and then stumbled to her feet She glanced at him from the corner of her eye and held up one finger. "I-If you'll excuse me for just a moment."
She made her way to the bathroom adjoining her office and closed the door softly behind her, and then went to the sink. Turning on the cold water, she splashed her face and the cool water instantly made her feel better, even though she was still wracked with confusion.
"Get a grip, Miaka." She whispered to herself as she dried her hands and face. "It can't be him, it….it's just someone who resembles him, that's all. There's no one in either world that could look exactly like Nuriko." She threw the towel into the sink, then stood looking at it and biting her lip. "And even if by some miracle it is him, he obviously doesn't know who I am anyway," she sighed.
Ending her one-sided conversation, Miaka pasted a bright smile on her face before opening the door. "I'd like to offer my apologies for all of that." She said as she took her seat behind the desk, and clasped her hands in her lap to hide their shaking.
"No problem. Are you sure you're all right?" Nick asked, while easing into the chair in front of her.
"I'm fine!" She said brightly. "I skipped breakfast this morning, that's probably all that's wrong." At that moment her stomach growled lightly and she laughed. "See? Now, let me formally introduce myself. My name is Miaka Yuuki."
"Nicholas Casey." He returned smiling slightly. "Or Nicole Stacey- whichever you prefer."
"Nice to meet you Mr. Casey, now…."
"Nick."
"Excuse me?"
"Call me Nick. Mr. Casey makes me feel old and Nicholas makes me feel like a child."
"In that case I insist you call me Miaka." Her smile was genuine this time, softening her face and causing her eyes to dance.
Nick nodded slowly, unable to take his eyes from hers. He couldn't explain why but he had the sudden urge to pull her across the desk and kiss her. Tearing his gaze from hers, he stood and began to pace around the room.
"Since I'll be taking over for Mrs. Rosenthal, I've started reading your books and I must say they are quite enjoyable." Miaka said, finally breaking the tense silence that had fallen between them. "I had several ideas for book signings and personal appearances but now that I've met you I assume you pretty much stay out of the public eye?" At his nod she continued, as a plan began brewing in her head. "Then I'll be sure to keep that in mind."
He stopped pacing. "Thank you."
She smiled at him, and then glanced at her watch. "I'm sorry to cut our meeting short but I have another appointment to keep. However, I did make reservations for the two of us for dinner tonight." A light blush dusted her cheeks and she began to play with the ring on her finger. "Of course that was before I knew you were….well, it was a business dinner in any event… so if you don't have any plans tonight…"
"What time?" Nick interrupted. A smile played around the corners of his mouth.
"The reservation is for seven. If you'd like to meet me back here at… say six-thirty, we can walk."
"Sounds great. I'll see you then." With a small wave Nick quickly exited the office, letting out a deep breath as the door closed behind him. Emotions that he couldn't explain were running through his body and when he looked down he realized his hands were shaking.
"So how did it go?" Agnes asked, appearing at his side as if by magic. "Isn't she a lovely young woman?"
Nick laughed and put an arm around the old woman's shoulders. "Don't you ever give up, Mrs. R?"
"Why should I? You are a very handsome young man and there's no reason why you shouldn't be married by now. Now take Miss Yuuki for example. She's just as attractive and unmarried, you two would make a beautiful couple."
"Ahh…then you must not have noticed the ring on her finger."
Agnes snorted as they began to make their way down the hall. "I saw it- I'm old, not blind! So she's engaged-so what? She's not married yet and I've heard her talk about that man of hers. No matter what she says, to me it's not natural that they've known each other ten years and still haven't tied the knot." She shook her head and then paused outside her office door. "Take my advice, Nicholas and don't let her get away. I don't know, why but as soon as I met her I knew she was the one for you."
The woman's words reverberated throughout Nick's body and he simply stood there, stunned. That had been the source of the feeling he had when he was holding her in his arms. The moment that his arms had closed around her, he had thought 'She's the one'. He couldn't explain it then and he couldn't now but he just knew and although the feeling had vanished almost as quickly as it came, he would always remember it- and her.
Snapping out of his reverie, he laughed nervously as he hugged the old woman. "I'm really going to miss you, Mrs. R."
"When are you going to stop that Mrs. R business and call me Agnes like I told you to?"
"As soon as you accept my marriage proposal." He shot back with a grin. It was a running joke between the two of them. After a messy breakup with a girlfriend two years ago, Nick had told Agnes she was the only woman who was constant in his life, besides his sister, and had jokingly begged her to marry him.
The small woman cackled gleefully and swatted at his arm. "Get on with you." Smiling warmly at him she patted his cheek. "I'm going to miss you too, Nicholas. Now get out of here before I start crying. You know how I hate to smudge my makeup!"
His own eyes misting, Nick leaned down and kissed one wrinkled cheek. He then turned and walked away without another word, knowing she would want it that way.
*****************
Miaka rushed into the busy restaurant and paused right inside the doorway, standing on her toes to gaze out across the filled tables. Finally spotting who she was looking for she waved and carefully pushed her way through the crowd. "Sorry I'm late." She gasped, flopping down breathlessly into a seat and shrugging out of her jacket.
"It's okay… but my flight leaves in two hours." Tamahome replied, while giving her a tight smile. It had been this way the whole two weeks he had been visiting. Miaka was always rushing off to a meeting while he was left alone to blankly stare at the TV. She had told him to go sightseeing, of course, but without her it didn't hold the same appeal.
Miaka stared at her fiancé, a small frown on her face. She knew he had felt neglected this visit but there was nothing she could do about it. Suddenly she smiled and reached across the table to squeeze his hand gently. "I know, why don't you delay returning to school? After my business dinner tonight, I can take a few days off and we can tour the city together."
"You know I can't do that, Miaka." He scolded, removing his hand from hers and placing it in his lap. "I still have two more months before I graduate and I can't afford to miss any classes."
"Oh." Blushing slightly she pulled her hand back across the table and clasped it with it's mate in her lap. She was sorry now that she had even mentioned him staying. Frankly, she was sorry he had even come to visit at all, because all they had done the whole two weeks was fight-when Tamahome wasn't ignoring her, that is. He had been attending graduate school for the past few years and seemed to resent the fact that she had accepted a position in the States.
Twisting the ring he had given her so many years ago, she nervously cleared her throat. "Tamahome…I've been thinking…"
"Me too." He interrupted. "This long distance thing is terrible. I've been thinking maybe we should go ahead and set a date."
"A date?" She looked at him blankly.
"A wedding date, silly."
"But…"
"It's what, November now? We can set it for February. That will give me time to graduate and get settled in a job and you can tie things up here and come back to Japan."
"But…"
"It'll be great, Miaka. We find a small apartment, just for now, and finally be together again. No more late night phone calls and endlessly writing long letters."
Miaka stared at him in disbelief. "Wait a minute." She said holding up a hand. "You expect me to just drop everything, give up my job and move back to Japan?"
"Well…yeah." Tamahome replied in surprise. "I already have a job waiting for me. It pays too much to just turn down."
"But what about my job? My career?"
He frowned in confusion. "You can just transfer back to the Japan office."
"No…I can't! I wasn't needed at the Japan office, Tamahome; I'm needed here. If I leave this job, I won't have one waiting for me in Japan."
A smile came to his lips and he shrugged. "So what? I'll be making enough to support the two of us, even with that appetite of yours."
Closing her eyes, Miaka slowly counted to ten and then opened them again. "That isn't the point." She bit out. "The point is that I love what I do and I love it here. Today I was just handed one of the biggest clients the company has and now you tell me you just want me to give it all up? I can't believe how selfish you're being!"
Tamahome glanced around, and grinned nervously at seeing the attention they were drawing. "Look, Miaka, I know I've kinda sprung this on you and you probably need some time to think about it. That's okay. You're coming for my graduation ceremony, right?" Seeing her tight nod, he continued in a softer tone. "All right, you can give me your decision then. Just think about it, that's all I'm asking."
"I'll…think about it."
"Great." Giving her a warm smile he stood and pulled her to her feet. "I have to go now if I'm going to catch my flight. I'll call you when I get home, okay?"
Miaka smiled and accepted his kiss and then watched his retreating back as he made his way out the door thinking that their years together had changed him. Not in appearance… but in attitude. Or perhaps she had changed, either way they were not the same people as they had been in the book.
Sighing she sat back down and nibbled on a breadstick as tears misted her eyes. There was a time when she would have moved heaven and earth to be with Tamahome. Now all he was asking her to do was give up her job, a job she loved dearly and enjoyed to the point of looking forward to opening her office door each morning. It was true she could find another job in Japan but here, in America, at this company, she felt as if she truly belonged.
Nicholas Casey's face sprang to the forefront of her mind and she brushed her tears away angrily. What she had told Tamahome was the truth; attaining Nick Casey as a client was a big career step for her and she would not give it up. It was Tamahome's turn to sacrifice everything. If he still wanted to be with her he would just have to learn to accept the fact that he would have to come to her.
Feeling better at having made a decision, Miaka picked up the menu and perused it before quickly signaling the waiter. Suddenly her appetite had returned ten-fold.
******************
Agnes Rosenthal stared out of the office window that was not really hers, a smile playing around her lips. As Suzaku had commanded she had brought the two together. The rest was up to them.
Stepping back from the large window she closed her eyes and chanted quietly under her breath. A soft red light formed around the old woman's body, getting brighter as each word left her mouth until it finally seemed to swallow her and she disappeared.