Hiya all! I'm back with a rewritten start to my Fushigi yugi/Ayashi no Ceres crossover. Hope u like! Fushigi yugi and Ayashi no Ceres chars do not belong to me (*giggles while imagining what she'd do to Tasuki if she DID own him* Ans-chan: teehee *cheesy grin*) They belong to Watase-sama! The greatest Mangaka of all time! So please don't sue. The story takes place after OVA 1 (yes after sealing away Tenkou and Miaka leaving Tamahome in Konan again.) so Tamakins Will be a part of the story! From there on (after OVA 1 I mean) I'm going for a run with the story, rewriting it my way…so sry folks no Miaka (yet ^_^) anywayz, I hope you like and plz review I welcome encouragement (don't we all) and same goes for constructive (Mark that!) criticism. This is my first ficcy on ff.net, so I'm cherishing high hopes! Ja ne!
When goddess sings your melody
"…And then the young man saw the Robe of feathers hanging on a branch near him and stole it."
"But if the nymph didn't have their robe of feathers they can't go home to the heavens right?"
"That's right"
"So what happened to the nymph then?"
"She couldn't g home and ended up marrying the young man"
"Oh! Then she must have fallen in love with him!"
"Well, I'm not too sure about that…"
"When she married the young man, then did she get her Robe back? Did she then go home? Is her home really in the sky? Grandfather! Please tell me! Tell meeeee do they still exist?"
"I don't know…maybe they do…"
*The day the star and moon of sixteen meet…The fated day will come…I see blood anger and sadness, the decay of everything in this world…Very soon you will be taken over by an evil star…When light and darkness meet your true power will awaken…But you will have a savior…*
The celestial symbol flashed before her eyes as well as those two green eyes, she thought she knew so well. But the look they were expressing was only one of incomprehension "Who are you?"
"Tooya!" with a cry Aya awakened.
"Who are you?" the words Tooya had spoken to her lingered in the back of her mind, Aya forced them away. Not willing to accept the fact that the Tooya she knew and loved was gone.
After the car accident she watched him leave…Together with her… Miori. And leaving behind the proof that he had chosen for her instead of the Mikage family, Aya's cross-shaped charm on the leather cord…
~
Earlier today she ran into him. He requested to talk to her so she let him take her to the beach. For minutes they had stood there, overlooking the ocean. An uncomfortable silence hung between them. Aya fought hard not to look at him, afraid she'd throw herself into his arms. Then he spoke…He told her he knew he had to remember her. He knew they had a history together, but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't see her… The only thing he could see clearly was him and Miori. His childhood in Shizuoka with her and the love he felt for her…But he said he had to know if he and Aya…Aya interrupted him before he could go any further, afraid that hearing him speak the words would be too painfull.
"Give me your hand" she interrupted him. Tooya seemed confused, but he gave her his hand. She gave him back the charm. "Here, I gave this to you, some time ago, I want you to have it back. I fixed the cord." still avoiding his confused gaze she put the necklace in his opened palm." Then without a word she started to walk away.
"Wait!" Tooya called after her, but she seemed determined and walked on. "Hey wait!" he grabbed her wrist, which made her look back. Their eyes met for a single moment, but Aya quickly looked away. "Please let go of me" She couldn't bear to see the incomprehension imprinted across his face. But instead of letting go of her he suddenly pulled her into his warm embrace in an act of impulsiveness. Aya's eyes widened "Tooya…" He pushed her away as soon as he realized what he was doing. Aya didn't dare look into his eyes as the awkward silence once again created a gap between them.
"I'm sorry…I don't know what came over me…" his words cut through the silence and shattered the last bit of hope she cherished. "But if I well understand, during my amnesia of the past year, you and me…"
"That would have been nice…" Aya said, surprised she was speaking so easily. She even looked up and dared to smile "But nothing happened between us, we're just acquaintances…So don't you worry about anything Mr. Mizuki. I'm glad you found your home, but I must be leaving now…Goodbye" she walked away, still surprised how natural she had spoken those words. *Goodbye Tooya*… It wasn't until she reached a deserted park that she broke down entirely and let the tears she'd been holding back so for so long run freely.
"Tooooooooooyaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!" Her desperate cry pierced the silence of the woods causing birds to scatter to all directions, with it a thunderstorm seemed to break loose and soaked Aya, but she didn't notice the cold stinging her body like a thousand knives. For nothing could match up to the cold sting of loneliness she now felt within.
Then a flash…The symbol of the nymph…and a white haired man, grinning….
"Ceres" a low whisper under the wind.
She felt the nymph inside her stir. *Aya, set me free…*
She didn't have the power anymore to fight it…and drifted away…Never even noticed the darkness that surrounded her and took her away…
Chichiri was startled by the sudden augmentation of awareness of his senses for apparently no reason. He just woke up and his mind was still a little cloudy with dreams long gone. So he focused and scanned the area for anything irregular. He recalled the sudden burst of qi-force that had brusquely ended his slumber and remembered it had felt like a strong aura suddenly disturbing the calmness around. Whatever it was, it seemed to be gone now…or was it? He sensed a low lifeforce, not far away. It was easy to miss, yet he managed to determine where it came from. It came from somewhere in the forest…
Chichiri grabbed his staff and started making his way through the thick bushes. Although it was a clear and sunny day, the sunlight seemed unable to reach the forest floor, plunging his surroundings into darkness. The leaves heavy rustle was all he could hear. Within the forest hung an eerie atmosphere. Chills ran unwillingly down his back. He sensed other then the slightly diminishing lifeforce an evil presence with great power… He shook of the fear that was creeping over him and focused his attention entirely on the lifeforce. Not long after he reached an open spot, where a few rays of sunlight managed to penetrate the dense foliage. He was surprised to see the few rays of light touched a still body, lying on the forest floor. He kneeled next to it and turned it over. A single ray of sunlight caressed the delicate features of a girl…not just any girl…"Kouran" He gasped as he recognized the face he'd been unconsciously longing to see for so long. The face that brought back a mixture of feelings he figured long gone…a face that reminded him of the painful memories he kept with him every moment of his life…His mind kept telling him she wasn't the one he once loved so dearly…She couldn't be his Kouran…But the resemblance was stunning. She was unconscious and her qi level was extremely low, but she was breathing and thus alive. He gently lifted her into his arms and her head fell heavily against his chest. He looked down at her, for any sign of life. But her face remained expressionless. He only could feel her soft breath escaping from her slightly parted lips.
He grew aware of the darker force lurking around them and hurried to get out of the forest. Soon he left the dark woods behind him and returned to the spot where he had spend the night. He carefully laid her down on his kesa and sat down next to her. She still showed no sign of waking up soon, so he gathered he'd just wait there…But the weather decided otherwise. Thick clouds packed together quickly and before he realized it a thunderstorm raged all around. He scooped up the unconscious girl and ran for shelter.
"Weather sure is strange these last couple of days no da"
He reached a small village and pushed open the first door he saw. It seemed to be a deserted house…Soaked to the bone, his bangs clinging to his face and his kesa draped around the girl he made his way to the bed. After putting her down, he gently stroked the strands of golden hair that were sticking to the young girls face out of her eyes. She was soaked to the bone as well and when he felt her forehead she was burning up.
*A fever…I need to get her out of those wet clothes Beads of sweat were forming on her face. First he scanned the room for helpful items…he saw a fireplace and some dry wood so he ignited a fire. Because the room was rather small it warmed up pretty quickly. he sat down on the bed to help her out of her wet garments.
*Ok…Chichiri, this is where your years of training in self control pays off* he thought as he unbuttoned her wet shirt. *Rather unusual things she wears…kind of like the things Suzaku no Miko used to run around in…* He covered her with the blankets he found lying in another corner. He managed to find a cloth a bowl and got some water outside. Rain was still pouring down and the sky lit up by occasional lightning strikes. Then he got out of his own wet clothes. He put everything by the fire to help it dry faster, cause he wasn't planning on walking around in nothing but a sheet wrapped around his waist for long.
He kneeled next to the bed and dunked the cloth underwater and laid it on the girl's forehead. She was breathing with more difficulty now and her lifeforce seemed to be at an alltime low.
*Looks like it's gonna be a rough night for her* Chichiri sat down into a chair next to the bed and reached for her hand *Better give her a hand*. He took his necklace into his hand and brought two fingers up to his lips, then concentrated and donated part of his lifeforce to her surrounding them both in a powerful red aura. As he sank away deeper and deeper into trance he grew aware of a restlessness inside of her. Like she was struggling and all her energy went to the fight within. Probing deeper into her being, he started seeing flashes of images… A child overlooking the ocean…a large tree…a bloody hand…then a purple light, seemed to be a circle, with a strange cross inside…a face… *Leave!*
"Da!" His eye flung open and he instantly lost the connection with her, he needed a few seconds to recover from the shock… A huge blast had pushed him away, out of her mind.
He looked at her, she seemed to be sleeping peacefully.
*How could she raise such a barrier while sleeping? Incredible…Who is this girl?*
He looked outside the window finding that night had fallen. *Must have been connected to her longer then I thought…* Although the thunderstorm had passed, the rain was still tapping against the window. The night was pitch-black and he could hardly make out the road running past the woman's house. He took another look at her, before he decided to get some shuteye himself. Her lifeforce seemed to have increased to a normal level again and she was breathing normally. Seeing the speaking resemblance with Kouran brought back painful memories of that dreadful day on wich he lost the two most important things in his entire life. He knew this girl wasn't her…She couldn't be. But the strange familiarity still drew him to her. Seeing her sleeping there, it was like nothing had ever happened…like his deepest desire had become reality…He knew this girl possessed a powerful force buried behind her innocent, peaceful look…Maybe she didn't even realize it herself. A strange determination to take care of this girl, whoever she was, crept over him and settled in his heart. He reached out and took her hand in his, as he had done a million times with Kouran when she was sick. Soon he too drifted away into sleep…
~Reprise~
*The day the star and moon of sixteen meet…The fated day will come…I see blood anger and sadness, the decay of everything in this world…Very soon you will be taken over by an evil star…When light and darkness meet your true power will awaken…But you will have a savior…*
The celestial symbol flashed before her eyes as well as those two green eyes, she thought she knew so well. But the look they were expressing was only one of incomprehension "Who are you?"
"Tooya!" with a cry Aya awakened.
"Who are you?" the words Tooya had spoken to her lingered in the back of her mind, Aya forced them away. Not willing to accept the fact that the Tooya she knew and loved was gone…
~
It took her a minute or two to realize someone was holding her hand.
"Tooya?" she looked to her right and found a man who obviously wasn't Tooya sitting there, still sleeping. He was the one holding on to her hand. He was wearing nothing but a sheet wrapped around his waist and a strange necklace of small red beads occasionally alternated by a larger green one. His hair was shaved close to his head, except for a long ponytail in the back of his neck and large gravity defying bangs hanging over his eyes. What stunned her the most was that one of his eyes was disfigured by a large scar running from one eyebrow over his eye and ending somewhere over the bridge of his nose…But it didn't make him look ugly, in fact Aya gathered the man was quite attractive. She bit her lip and slowly pulled away her hand from his, careful not to wake him up. Her eyes kept glued to his face, strangely fascinated by it's beauty…She first didn't even notice she was naked until she felt the cool sheets falling down as she sat up.
She grabbed them and quickly covered herself up. Finally realizing the full situation she covered her mouth with her hand to prevent her from crying out.
*Oh dear lord please tell me I didn't…* She desperately tried to remember what had happened…All she remembered was Tooya, and the conversation they had. Her eyes clouded with tears once more, but she wouldn't allow herself to start crying again, afraid she wouldn't be able to stop. She wiped her hand over her eyes and pulled her knees up against her torso. Wrapping her arms around them to drive away the cold and empty feeling inside she sat there, staring at the sleeping man, waiting until he would wake up…Her patience was rewarded soon after as he stirred and opened his good eye. A deep red brownish gaze locked with hers as she looked up. Strangly enough she wasn't afraid of him…though she had every reason to… Chichiri woke up at the feeling of someone looking at him. To his surprise he met the eyes of the girl, staring at him from the bed, with a puzzled look on her face. Her eyes were the clearest of blues, once and for all settling she wasn't his Kouran, for she had had violet eyes. "Da…Ohayo no da" he said, forgetting they were both still rather improperly dressed. The girl didn't speak, which made him wonder if she could even understand him. She just sat there staring at him with a blank expression."D…Daijobu ka no da?" he tried again
"M…Moo genki ni natta" she then hesitatively said.
"Oh great you can understand me no da" He cheerfully smiled stepping closer to her.
She froze and suddenly looked at him with a look of fear.
Chichiri stopped "It's ok no da…I won't hurt you…You don't have to be scared"
He followed her gaze to the sheet he was wearing. "Oh! No no no! this isn't what it looks like!"
"Y…You mean we didn't?" She shyly asked, suddenly blushing heavily.
"Nooooooo no no no! I'm a monk no da! I would never…"he quickly said, making abundant movements with his hands to reassure her. "See I found you yesterday and we got stuck in a rainstorm so I had to take of our clothes to dry them…" he explained, noticing too late that what he said sounded equally worse. *Way to go mr self-control* he cursed himself.
"Oh…" she only said, not sure how to react.
*Baka Houjun, get dressed already!* a voice screamed inside his head and it seemed to shake him out of his puzzled state. He snapped his fingers and reappeared before her fully dressed this time. "I'm sorry, if I scared you…Here, your clothers are dry now, I'll just wait outside"
Aya still stunned at the way he just had reappeared before her fully dressed said nothing and took her clothes. *What is this place?!*
After a while she joined him outside. He was sitting in the grass enjoying the early sun. Chichiri meanwhile had regained his calm and looked back at her as she walked outside, blocking the sun from blinding her with her arm she walked towards him and sat down.
"Well, Guess we'd better start over no da" he smiled "My name's Chichiri, I found you yesterday in that forest over there, you were in pretty bad shape…your lifeforce was pretty low, so I took you with me, but then we got caught in a thunderstorm and I took you here. I hope you don't mind, but I had to take of your clothes or you would've caught a cold on top of everything no da."
She listened to him still not quite understanding how she got in that forest in the first place. "Guess I should thank you then, seems to me like you've saved my life" she forced a smile. "By the way…my name's Aya"
"Aya" he spoke her name with so much softness only Tooya had ever been able to say it like that. Aya looked at him, locking with his gaze for a brief instant. A genuine smile crossed her lips as she felt the tension between them fall away. It was like when he said her name that way, with so much love and tenderness in it and had looked at her that way only for a brief moment, she felt a gentle touch of warmth rush through her entire body. For an instant warming the cold that lies within her heart.
"What is it no da?" Chichiri looked at her with a glint of confusion glimmering through his serious look.
"Nothing…you just reminded me of someone…" she said
Chichiri kept silent. Aya took in her surroundings. The open field couldn't possibly be somewhere near where she lived. The scene was too calm to be of her world. So peaceful, so genuine…
"Where are you from?" Chichiri asked her.
"I'm from Tokyo originally…"
*Tokyo…Miaka's home if I'm not mistaken*
"Do you have any idea where you are now" Chichiri asked, knowing what her answer would be.
"Not the slightest"
"I figured…" he smiled "well I can tell you that you are now in Konan, the land protected by the god beast of the south. Suzaku. You're from the same world as the Suzaku no miko, who was here quite some time ago. But the reason why you got transported I don't know…"
She stared at him blankly, like he'd spoken in a complete different language. "You're saying I got transported here…from another world? Why? And how am I supposed to get back?" She wondered if Ceres had anything to do with this, but the nymph kept unusually quiet.
"I don't know no da…but I do know somebody who might know." He got up from the ground and helped her to her feet. "We'll go visit Taitsukun on Mt. Taikyoku"