Angel of fire
By Amiboshi-chan
Chapter six
Miaka, Tasuki, Daiani and Naomi arrived at the palace entrance a few moments later. Miaka instantly headed for the kitchen. Tasuki tried to follow her, but found himself swarmed with people curious about their adventure, and not wanting to bother the former miko for obvious reasons. Never get between that girl and her food.
Tamahome heard quickly of their arrival and dashed out to his beloved. The two of them disappeared for a few hours. (Let's not discuss what they were up to.) Naomi greeted Houki and Boushin then wandered around the garden for a while. Walking around by the roses, she spotted the only two people still oblivious to their arrival. Kouji and Kurea strolled by, too engrossed in each other to even notice her presence. Pretty strange, since almost no one ever slipped past Kurea without her sensing them.
"So how did you meet Miaka, Kouji?" Kurea asked, making small talk. Kouji laughed and scratched the back of his head.
"Well, it's kind of a long story . . .See, a few of my guys . . .you know, up on Mount Reikaku? They captured her and two others. She turned out to be the Suzaku no Miko, and One of them was the Emperor of Konan!" Kurea laughed.
"Typical you would kidnap the emperor. What did you do then?"
"We let'em go, of course. Genrou followed 'em after a while, and, well, I guess you could say he fell in love with her in a sense. She was already gone to him by the time they met, though."
"Tamahome?"
"Yep. The two of them were real close. Damn near scared me when I found out about him and Daiani. Never thought either of them would find another. Course, I never thought Genrou would fall for a woman either . . ."
Naomi listened from her spot behind the rose trellis. Tasuki was in love with Miaka. . .hmmm, maybe a little nudge in the right direction was what both of them needed. . . Naomi ran off, devious plans forming in her head as she left the two friends alone.
Kurea listened half-heartedly as Kouji rambled on about Genrou and Miaka. Tugging lightly on a blonde ringlet, she wondered briefly if Kouji had a girl.
The two slowly left the garden and headed towards the palace. It was dark now. All Kouji wanted to do was go to sleep. So he said his goodnights to Kurea when they got to her room. Kurea looked at the ground for a moment, then a strange urge came over her, doing away with all common sense. Quickly, she reached up and capture Kouji's lips in a sweet, chaste kiss. Pulling away, she turned on her heel and dashed into her room, not giving the baffled bandit a chance to react.
Kouji stared at the closed door for a minute, wondering if he should go in. He decided he shouldn't until his head stopped spinning. He might say something he would regret later. He shook his head as he walked away. Damn, he needed some sake.
Kurea sat tensely on the edge of the bed until she heard Kouji's footsteps slowly fade away down the hall. As soon as she was sure he was gone, she flopped back onto the white sheets with an exasperated sigh. Suzaku, she hated men sometimes. Turning over, she frowned.
In the past week or so, she had realized that Kouji was The One. He was so perfect, fun, charming, funny, handsome, honest, and his smiles were to die for. The only problem was she had no idea how to do about telling him that. Kurea's experiences with men were less than pleasant. She'd had more one night stands than she like to admit. Of course, she didn't always have Naomi there to take care of her when she had a bit too much sake. She was thankful for Naomi's friendship those past two hundred years since Naomi joined her, and many years to come with her two fellow guardians. She had everything she needed . . .except love. 'Not for long though.' She thought to herself with a smile. 'It won't be long until Kouji cracks. This time . . . this time . . .I won't let 'em get away.'
Tasuki stared up at the roof of his room as the sun slowly descended into the sky at dawn. Sighing for the millionth time that night, he tried once again to draw his train of thought away from the brunette girl that had plagued his dreams and kept him up half the night. He knew that he had fallen hard for his priestess; there was no denying that any more. There was just no way she possibly felt the same way. Slowly he rose, knowing there was no chance for any more sleep that night. Wandering around the palace for a while, he found himself out on Chichiri's fishing rock, staring out over the water, dabbing the water with a finger, watching the rings slowly grow and disappear. Sighing, he leaned on his arm and waited for daylight.
Chichiri got up the next morning, intent on some good fishing. He could tell this was a good day for biting fish. Grabbing his pole, he headed out to his usual spot. Approaching, he found a rather frazzled-looking red headed bandit staring out over the lake. Settling down to the side of him, Chichiri threw out his line before turning to Tasuki. The bandit had barely even noticed his presence.
"Something on your mind, Tasuki no da?" He was met by silence. Shrugging, he turned back to his pole. Tasuki would talk when he felt like it.
Sure enough, a few moments later, Tasuki spoke up softly. "Chichiri? Can I ask you a question?"
"What is it no da?" Chichiri looked at his friend.
"Say this guy likes a girl . . .a lot. The girl's been hurt before and isn't likely to fall in love again anytime soon. She likes the guy as a friend, but probably not much of anything else. What should the guy do?"
"What makes you think the girl doesn't love the guy no da?"
Tasuki studied the monk for a moment, trying to see what he was getting at. Pursing his lips, he answered, barely audible. "She barely notices him." Chichiri heard the remark, and thought his answer over carefully.
"Give her time, Tasuki. She loves you more than you know. She needs a while to get over Tamahome, but she'll learn to love again. And you'll be the lucky guy if you're patient." For once Tasuki was at a loss for words.
"Thank you, Chichiri." The monk nodded, and Tasuki rose. Smiling to himself, he strode away, looking for Kouji. He had some catching up to do.
Miaka bent over and smelled the beautiful gardenias in the palace gardens. In her earthly heaven, she didn't notice her visitor until he put a hand on her shoulder. Turning, she looked into Tamahome's intense steely gaze. She had always wondered how slate gray could look so warm "Tamahome, what is it?"
"Miaka, I think we need to talk." Miaka nodded and followed him though the garden. She knew what he wanted to talk about, but amazingly she wasn't saddened or angered in the slightest. It shocked her a little, her lack of emotion. Had she really grown apart from Tamahome more than she thought in those past six years?
"About Daiani . . ." Tamahome began, but didn't get very far in his statement before Miaka interrupted him, putting her hands on his shoulders
"I know what you're going to say. Don't worry about it. I was gone for six years, Tamahome. Six years. Only a fool would expect you to wait for me." She took her hands from his shoulders and stepped back. "Now, I know that Daiani loves you very much, much more than I could at this point in my life. I want you to be happy. Now go, I'm sure Daiani is looking for you somewhere."
Tamahome looked at her for a moment, as if he didn't believe her. Then, slowly, he nodded, and turned and walked away. Miaka watched him leave, then sighed contentedly, feeling a burden lifted. She had set both of them free.
Well, here's another chapter! I hope it's not too boring, I know things are going kind of slow, and I'm mostly just trying to distinguish where everyone is emotionally. Things will start to pick up in pace soon enough! Well, thanks to everyone who has reviewed, it means so much! Lotsa loves, I'll have a new chapter out ASAP!
Thanks, Andrea
Chapter six
Miaka, Tasuki, Daiani and Naomi arrived at the palace entrance a few moments later. Miaka instantly headed for the kitchen. Tasuki tried to follow her, but found himself swarmed with people curious about their adventure, and not wanting to bother the former miko for obvious reasons. Never get between that girl and her food.
Tamahome heard quickly of their arrival and dashed out to his beloved. The two of them disappeared for a few hours. (Let's not discuss what they were up to.) Naomi greeted Houki and Boushin then wandered around the garden for a while. Walking around by the roses, she spotted the only two people still oblivious to their arrival. Kouji and Kurea strolled by, too engrossed in each other to even notice her presence. Pretty strange, since almost no one ever slipped past Kurea without her sensing them.
"So how did you meet Miaka, Kouji?" Kurea asked, making small talk. Kouji laughed and scratched the back of his head.
"Well, it's kind of a long story . . .See, a few of my guys . . .you know, up on Mount Reikaku? They captured her and two others. She turned out to be the Suzaku no Miko, and One of them was the Emperor of Konan!" Kurea laughed.
"Typical you would kidnap the emperor. What did you do then?"
"We let'em go, of course. Genrou followed 'em after a while, and, well, I guess you could say he fell in love with her in a sense. She was already gone to him by the time they met, though."
"Tamahome?"
"Yep. The two of them were real close. Damn near scared me when I found out about him and Daiani. Never thought either of them would find another. Course, I never thought Genrou would fall for a woman either . . ."
Naomi listened from her spot behind the rose trellis. Tasuki was in love with Miaka. . .hmmm, maybe a little nudge in the right direction was what both of them needed. . . Naomi ran off, devious plans forming in her head as she left the two friends alone.
Kurea listened half-heartedly as Kouji rambled on about Genrou and Miaka. Tugging lightly on a blonde ringlet, she wondered briefly if Kouji had a girl.
The two slowly left the garden and headed towards the palace. It was dark now. All Kouji wanted to do was go to sleep. So he said his goodnights to Kurea when they got to her room. Kurea looked at the ground for a moment, then a strange urge came over her, doing away with all common sense. Quickly, she reached up and capture Kouji's lips in a sweet, chaste kiss. Pulling away, she turned on her heel and dashed into her room, not giving the baffled bandit a chance to react.
Kouji stared at the closed door for a minute, wondering if he should go in. He decided he shouldn't until his head stopped spinning. He might say something he would regret later. He shook his head as he walked away. Damn, he needed some sake.
Kurea sat tensely on the edge of the bed until she heard Kouji's footsteps slowly fade away down the hall. As soon as she was sure he was gone, she flopped back onto the white sheets with an exasperated sigh. Suzaku, she hated men sometimes. Turning over, she frowned.
In the past week or so, she had realized that Kouji was The One. He was so perfect, fun, charming, funny, handsome, honest, and his smiles were to die for. The only problem was she had no idea how to do about telling him that. Kurea's experiences with men were less than pleasant. She'd had more one night stands than she like to admit. Of course, she didn't always have Naomi there to take care of her when she had a bit too much sake. She was thankful for Naomi's friendship those past two hundred years since Naomi joined her, and many years to come with her two fellow guardians. She had everything she needed . . .except love. 'Not for long though.' She thought to herself with a smile. 'It won't be long until Kouji cracks. This time . . . this time . . .I won't let 'em get away.'
Tasuki stared up at the roof of his room as the sun slowly descended into the sky at dawn. Sighing for the millionth time that night, he tried once again to draw his train of thought away from the brunette girl that had plagued his dreams and kept him up half the night. He knew that he had fallen hard for his priestess; there was no denying that any more. There was just no way she possibly felt the same way. Slowly he rose, knowing there was no chance for any more sleep that night. Wandering around the palace for a while, he found himself out on Chichiri's fishing rock, staring out over the water, dabbing the water with a finger, watching the rings slowly grow and disappear. Sighing, he leaned on his arm and waited for daylight.
Chichiri got up the next morning, intent on some good fishing. He could tell this was a good day for biting fish. Grabbing his pole, he headed out to his usual spot. Approaching, he found a rather frazzled-looking red headed bandit staring out over the lake. Settling down to the side of him, Chichiri threw out his line before turning to Tasuki. The bandit had barely even noticed his presence.
"Something on your mind, Tasuki no da?" He was met by silence. Shrugging, he turned back to his pole. Tasuki would talk when he felt like it.
Sure enough, a few moments later, Tasuki spoke up softly. "Chichiri? Can I ask you a question?"
"What is it no da?" Chichiri looked at his friend.
"Say this guy likes a girl . . .a lot. The girl's been hurt before and isn't likely to fall in love again anytime soon. She likes the guy as a friend, but probably not much of anything else. What should the guy do?"
"What makes you think the girl doesn't love the guy no da?"
Tasuki studied the monk for a moment, trying to see what he was getting at. Pursing his lips, he answered, barely audible. "She barely notices him." Chichiri heard the remark, and thought his answer over carefully.
"Give her time, Tasuki. She loves you more than you know. She needs a while to get over Tamahome, but she'll learn to love again. And you'll be the lucky guy if you're patient." For once Tasuki was at a loss for words.
"Thank you, Chichiri." The monk nodded, and Tasuki rose. Smiling to himself, he strode away, looking for Kouji. He had some catching up to do.
Miaka bent over and smelled the beautiful gardenias in the palace gardens. In her earthly heaven, she didn't notice her visitor until he put a hand on her shoulder. Turning, she looked into Tamahome's intense steely gaze. She had always wondered how slate gray could look so warm "Tamahome, what is it?"
"Miaka, I think we need to talk." Miaka nodded and followed him though the garden. She knew what he wanted to talk about, but amazingly she wasn't saddened or angered in the slightest. It shocked her a little, her lack of emotion. Had she really grown apart from Tamahome more than she thought in those past six years?
"About Daiani . . ." Tamahome began, but didn't get very far in his statement before Miaka interrupted him, putting her hands on his shoulders
"I know what you're going to say. Don't worry about it. I was gone for six years, Tamahome. Six years. Only a fool would expect you to wait for me." She took her hands from his shoulders and stepped back. "Now, I know that Daiani loves you very much, much more than I could at this point in my life. I want you to be happy. Now go, I'm sure Daiani is looking for you somewhere."
Tamahome looked at her for a moment, as if he didn't believe her. Then, slowly, he nodded, and turned and walked away. Miaka watched him leave, then sighed contentedly, feeling a burden lifted. She had set both of them free.
Well, here's another chapter! I hope it's not too boring, I know things are going kind of slow, and I'm mostly just trying to distinguish where everyone is emotionally. Things will start to pick up in pace soon enough! Well, thanks to everyone who has reviewed, it means so much! Lotsa loves, I'll have a new chapter out ASAP!
Thanks, Andrea