Disclaimer: I do not own Fushigi Yuugi, a fact that should be obvious to
all of you since I've said it every single chapter, including this one.
Author's Note: Review. Review. Review. And don't think that's the last you'll hear about it. Thanks to all the people who actually did review, you are truly kind souls to pity a lowly writer such as myself. Enough groveling! On with the show!
What If? Part 8 Ils sortent pour les montagnes. (They leave for the mountains in French. I thought I would make the title more exotic. ^_^)
Nuriko tightened the straps on the saddle for the third time in the last five minutes. He did inventory on the contents of his saddlebags finding, for the third time, that everything was in order. He fidgeted around the straps and sacks again, anxious for a reason that he couldn't quite pinpoint, aside from his desire to be off and get it over with.
"Ryuuen, everything is fine. I would think that you'd know that by now, seeing as you've double-checked everything about 5 times for now," Kourin said as she petted his horse's neck. The horse was now quite fidgety itself, having picked up on the feelings of tension all around it.
It could feel Kourin's worry about Nuriko's safety and Miaka's; Nuriko's anxiety about Miaka and the journey; Hotohori's concern for Miaka; his advisors' worries about their emperor and the government, that would have to survive in his absence; and Tamahome's at what he would eventually have to say to Miaka.
They could not set off yet, because Miaka had not yet emerged from her room. The doctor was finishing up an examination on her and administering a few herbal treatments that would hopefully result in improved or at least stable health during their journey. The destination: Mount Taiikyoku (sp?) where dwelled the only person with enough power to send Miaka back to her own world. The only person they knew of anyway.
Perhaps, Nuriko reflected, his nervousness was not due to inexperience at travel but the shakiness of the destination. The area they were headed toward was not marked on any with certainty. The general area was known by the public from rumors that were confirmed by the local folklore. The definite location of the mountain itself or the dwelling of its inhabitant were either not known or were a well-kept secret. It was anyone's guess which one.
His thoughts were interrupted by nervous laughter, followed by the comment: "He really should get that narcissism under control."
He blinked, realizing that Miaka had apparently come out of her room while he was lost in thought. As Hotohori mounted his horse and pulled Miaka up in front of him, he hugged Kourin goodbye and practically leapt into his own saddle. He waved to her continuously as they set off and she watched them depart sadly until they were out of sight, sighing deeply when her straining eyes could no longer catch a glimpse of them.
* * *
Nuriko too, had been looking back, although he had torn his gaze away sooner, surprised to find that his eyes were wet. He hadn't known he was that upset about leaving. Perhaps the feeling had been lost in his anticipation and anxiousness. He knew how much Kourin hated the loneliness of the palace. He felt guilty for leaving her there, alone in the place she hated.
A couple hours of riding and the saddle was starting to get uncomfortable. His house was close enough to the main parts of the city that he never had to ride for very long to get wherever he wanted, even the palace. I really am a green traveler aren't I? He squirmed and glanced at his traveling companions. Tamahome seemed pretty comfortable, if a little tense and troubled.
He reasoned that Hotohori should be even worse off than he was, but if the emperor was getting saddle sore he didn't show it. Must be the royal upbringing, he thought. Miaka was riding sidesaddle, practically in Hotohori's arms. Doesn't that make her uncomfortable? If it was me. He blushed deeply and had the urge to giggle like a schoolgirl. If it was me. Woah, what am I thinking? Where the Hell did that come from?.Weird.
He spent the next hour enjoying the scenery and pushing the odd thought about Hotohori from his mind. It hadn't seemed at all odd to him at the time. It was as if it were a completely natural and familiar feeling, which only made the stray thought stranger.
He spent the hour after that hour TRYING to enjoy the scenery with minimal success due to his pained thigh muscles.
Three hours after that he was relieved to hear the emperor's decision to stop and make camp for the night. It was only late afternoon and they had plenty of light but the grassy clearing they had found was perfect and they weren't likely to find a place nearly as good in the same LIFETIME as this. Nuriko couldn't have been happier.
He was even more pleased to find that the large grassy clearing surrounded by thick, thorny bushes that was so easy to defend, had a hot spring not 5 minute's walk away. He was about to rush back to camp to inform his companions of his discovery when an odd sound from a large shrub to his right caught his attention.
Nuriko continued his wood gathering expedition, pretending he hadn't heard the noise. It had sounded kind of like ripping cloth, but it could very well have been and animal of some kind, snuffing around in the dry leaves. He wasn't a woodsman; he didn't know. He slowly made his way over to the bush, still acting as if he were none the wiser. Good thing there's lots of branches over here or might have to get creative. A picture of him relieving himself on the bush under suspicion forced itself into his mind and he sweat dropped. Oh goodness.
He reached down to grab a small branch half obscured by the bottom of the leafy shrub. He brought his eyes up slowly, dreading what he would see. His large violet eyes became level with the bush and met with a pair the same purple shade as his own. He blinked.
"Kourin?!" He questioned in complete disbelief.
"You knew I was here that whole time, didn't you?"
"Yup."
"You heard me trip, huh?"
"Yup."
"C'est la vie," and with that she emerged from the bush pulling at her skirts and sleeves to be brutally honest, she looked like a giant rat's nest. Most of her hair had liberated itself from the two buns atop her head and her clothes were torn and frayed at hem. She was coated with dust and had a small forest's worth of dry leaves clinging to her clothes and hair.
"Um, how long have you been crawling around in the bushes, Kourin?" He had so many questions he should ask, but his mind was so shocked, it was just a big black hole.
"Half an hour or so, after I finally managed to ditch Hojo." She rolled her eyes.
"You followed us? I mean-well- who's Hojo?" He was having trouble thinking.
"He's some guard that agreed to take me after you. You won't tell them about this will you?" She said, turning on the charm for him.
"Well, why did you do it? This is dangerous you know!"
"Shh, I know that, why do you think I brought Hojo? I'll be fine. All I need from you is a promise not to say ANYTHING about me!" This was as close as she ever came to begging. Kourin had had even when she was playing in mud puddles at age four. She had clasped her hands in front her, her back straight as an arrow, her eyes calmly entreating him to accept her terms.
"Yeah, okay." Despite his anxiety at what could happen to her, both if the others caught her or if she was overpowered by some unknown, he was elated at her appearance. Now he felt much less alone.
* * *
Nuriko returned to camp shortly after his surprise encounter, carrying the thin branches in one arm and dragging a few small trees behind him. They could have a roaring fire, if they so desired. Everyone looked at him a little strange, but he simply set about breaking the trees into smaller, more manageable pieces, taking them in his hands and snapping them like twigs. Hotohori and Tamahome looked at him even stranger, but Miaka danced over to him and glomped his arm in a sudden display of hyperactivity.
"That's so COOL! You can break trees with your bare hands!"
Tamahome snorted. "Girly man," he muttered sourly. Hotohori glanced at him menacingly.
"I don't think we'll need quite this much wood, but thank you," the emperor said, feeling strangely protective of Nuriko after Tamahome's rude comment. Insulting a woman that way. Wait- woman? Nuriko's not a woman! Why did I think that? Hotohori considered the seishi for a moment. Well he does look an awful lot like Kourin. Some color eyes, same purple hair, same shaped lips, same delicate hands, same slight frame. His thoughts trailed off as the list continued and he wondered briefly when he had studied Kourin long enough to remember such things.
The emperor walked over to take some small wood to begin the fire. The smell of jasmine floated on the air to his nose. He sniffed slightly, somehow feeling more relaxed and at ease after smelling it.
"Nuriko, is that perfume?" he said, before he actually thought about it.
"Huh? Um. maybe I stepped on a flower? Or something?" He smells Kourin's perfume? I guess I took it granted. Maybe she should cut back a little.
"Hmm. I thought it was familiar, but a lot of perfumes are based on flower scents, I suppose." Hotohori became lost in thought, trying to place where he had smelled that particular scent before.
Meanwhile, Nuriko took the wood from his hands and lit the fire, then sat down painfully on a large rock, rubbing his thighs. Man, I do NOT want to get back on that horse. EVER, let alone bright and early tomorrow morning.
Tamahome and Miaka were both sitting on their bedrolls Tamahome looked pissed off but Miaka looked exhausted and pale. Hmmm, I bet a nice little dip in a hotspring would do her good. He grinned and went over to her bedroll to tell her about the hotspring he'd found.
"Hey, Miaka, you look tired."
"Hai, I'm okay though," she replied.
"I found a hotspring about three minutes walk from here. There's supposed to be one in this area with special healing powers. Maybe you should go find out if that's the one," Nuriko whispered, trying to keep Tamahome from hearing. If all the other seishi figured out about the spring he wouldn't be able to get time to himself later, when Miaka was finished.
"Oh, thank you," she squeaked, giving him a hug and going off in the direction he'd indicated.
Author's Note: Review. Review. Review. And don't think that's the last you'll hear about it. Thanks to all the people who actually did review, you are truly kind souls to pity a lowly writer such as myself. Enough groveling! On with the show!
What If? Part 8 Ils sortent pour les montagnes. (They leave for the mountains in French. I thought I would make the title more exotic. ^_^)
Nuriko tightened the straps on the saddle for the third time in the last five minutes. He did inventory on the contents of his saddlebags finding, for the third time, that everything was in order. He fidgeted around the straps and sacks again, anxious for a reason that he couldn't quite pinpoint, aside from his desire to be off and get it over with.
"Ryuuen, everything is fine. I would think that you'd know that by now, seeing as you've double-checked everything about 5 times for now," Kourin said as she petted his horse's neck. The horse was now quite fidgety itself, having picked up on the feelings of tension all around it.
It could feel Kourin's worry about Nuriko's safety and Miaka's; Nuriko's anxiety about Miaka and the journey; Hotohori's concern for Miaka; his advisors' worries about their emperor and the government, that would have to survive in his absence; and Tamahome's at what he would eventually have to say to Miaka.
They could not set off yet, because Miaka had not yet emerged from her room. The doctor was finishing up an examination on her and administering a few herbal treatments that would hopefully result in improved or at least stable health during their journey. The destination: Mount Taiikyoku (sp?) where dwelled the only person with enough power to send Miaka back to her own world. The only person they knew of anyway.
Perhaps, Nuriko reflected, his nervousness was not due to inexperience at travel but the shakiness of the destination. The area they were headed toward was not marked on any with certainty. The general area was known by the public from rumors that were confirmed by the local folklore. The definite location of the mountain itself or the dwelling of its inhabitant were either not known or were a well-kept secret. It was anyone's guess which one.
His thoughts were interrupted by nervous laughter, followed by the comment: "He really should get that narcissism under control."
He blinked, realizing that Miaka had apparently come out of her room while he was lost in thought. As Hotohori mounted his horse and pulled Miaka up in front of him, he hugged Kourin goodbye and practically leapt into his own saddle. He waved to her continuously as they set off and she watched them depart sadly until they were out of sight, sighing deeply when her straining eyes could no longer catch a glimpse of them.
* * *
Nuriko too, had been looking back, although he had torn his gaze away sooner, surprised to find that his eyes were wet. He hadn't known he was that upset about leaving. Perhaps the feeling had been lost in his anticipation and anxiousness. He knew how much Kourin hated the loneliness of the palace. He felt guilty for leaving her there, alone in the place she hated.
A couple hours of riding and the saddle was starting to get uncomfortable. His house was close enough to the main parts of the city that he never had to ride for very long to get wherever he wanted, even the palace. I really am a green traveler aren't I? He squirmed and glanced at his traveling companions. Tamahome seemed pretty comfortable, if a little tense and troubled.
He reasoned that Hotohori should be even worse off than he was, but if the emperor was getting saddle sore he didn't show it. Must be the royal upbringing, he thought. Miaka was riding sidesaddle, practically in Hotohori's arms. Doesn't that make her uncomfortable? If it was me. He blushed deeply and had the urge to giggle like a schoolgirl. If it was me. Woah, what am I thinking? Where the Hell did that come from?.Weird.
He spent the next hour enjoying the scenery and pushing the odd thought about Hotohori from his mind. It hadn't seemed at all odd to him at the time. It was as if it were a completely natural and familiar feeling, which only made the stray thought stranger.
He spent the hour after that hour TRYING to enjoy the scenery with minimal success due to his pained thigh muscles.
Three hours after that he was relieved to hear the emperor's decision to stop and make camp for the night. It was only late afternoon and they had plenty of light but the grassy clearing they had found was perfect and they weren't likely to find a place nearly as good in the same LIFETIME as this. Nuriko couldn't have been happier.
He was even more pleased to find that the large grassy clearing surrounded by thick, thorny bushes that was so easy to defend, had a hot spring not 5 minute's walk away. He was about to rush back to camp to inform his companions of his discovery when an odd sound from a large shrub to his right caught his attention.
Nuriko continued his wood gathering expedition, pretending he hadn't heard the noise. It had sounded kind of like ripping cloth, but it could very well have been and animal of some kind, snuffing around in the dry leaves. He wasn't a woodsman; he didn't know. He slowly made his way over to the bush, still acting as if he were none the wiser. Good thing there's lots of branches over here or might have to get creative. A picture of him relieving himself on the bush under suspicion forced itself into his mind and he sweat dropped. Oh goodness.
He reached down to grab a small branch half obscured by the bottom of the leafy shrub. He brought his eyes up slowly, dreading what he would see. His large violet eyes became level with the bush and met with a pair the same purple shade as his own. He blinked.
"Kourin?!" He questioned in complete disbelief.
"You knew I was here that whole time, didn't you?"
"Yup."
"You heard me trip, huh?"
"Yup."
"C'est la vie," and with that she emerged from the bush pulling at her skirts and sleeves to be brutally honest, she looked like a giant rat's nest. Most of her hair had liberated itself from the two buns atop her head and her clothes were torn and frayed at hem. She was coated with dust and had a small forest's worth of dry leaves clinging to her clothes and hair.
"Um, how long have you been crawling around in the bushes, Kourin?" He had so many questions he should ask, but his mind was so shocked, it was just a big black hole.
"Half an hour or so, after I finally managed to ditch Hojo." She rolled her eyes.
"You followed us? I mean-well- who's Hojo?" He was having trouble thinking.
"He's some guard that agreed to take me after you. You won't tell them about this will you?" She said, turning on the charm for him.
"Well, why did you do it? This is dangerous you know!"
"Shh, I know that, why do you think I brought Hojo? I'll be fine. All I need from you is a promise not to say ANYTHING about me!" This was as close as she ever came to begging. Kourin had had even when she was playing in mud puddles at age four. She had clasped her hands in front her, her back straight as an arrow, her eyes calmly entreating him to accept her terms.
"Yeah, okay." Despite his anxiety at what could happen to her, both if the others caught her or if she was overpowered by some unknown, he was elated at her appearance. Now he felt much less alone.
* * *
Nuriko returned to camp shortly after his surprise encounter, carrying the thin branches in one arm and dragging a few small trees behind him. They could have a roaring fire, if they so desired. Everyone looked at him a little strange, but he simply set about breaking the trees into smaller, more manageable pieces, taking them in his hands and snapping them like twigs. Hotohori and Tamahome looked at him even stranger, but Miaka danced over to him and glomped his arm in a sudden display of hyperactivity.
"That's so COOL! You can break trees with your bare hands!"
Tamahome snorted. "Girly man," he muttered sourly. Hotohori glanced at him menacingly.
"I don't think we'll need quite this much wood, but thank you," the emperor said, feeling strangely protective of Nuriko after Tamahome's rude comment. Insulting a woman that way. Wait- woman? Nuriko's not a woman! Why did I think that? Hotohori considered the seishi for a moment. Well he does look an awful lot like Kourin. Some color eyes, same purple hair, same shaped lips, same delicate hands, same slight frame. His thoughts trailed off as the list continued and he wondered briefly when he had studied Kourin long enough to remember such things.
The emperor walked over to take some small wood to begin the fire. The smell of jasmine floated on the air to his nose. He sniffed slightly, somehow feeling more relaxed and at ease after smelling it.
"Nuriko, is that perfume?" he said, before he actually thought about it.
"Huh? Um. maybe I stepped on a flower? Or something?" He smells Kourin's perfume? I guess I took it granted. Maybe she should cut back a little.
"Hmm. I thought it was familiar, but a lot of perfumes are based on flower scents, I suppose." Hotohori became lost in thought, trying to place where he had smelled that particular scent before.
Meanwhile, Nuriko took the wood from his hands and lit the fire, then sat down painfully on a large rock, rubbing his thighs. Man, I do NOT want to get back on that horse. EVER, let alone bright and early tomorrow morning.
Tamahome and Miaka were both sitting on their bedrolls Tamahome looked pissed off but Miaka looked exhausted and pale. Hmmm, I bet a nice little dip in a hotspring would do her good. He grinned and went over to her bedroll to tell her about the hotspring he'd found.
"Hey, Miaka, you look tired."
"Hai, I'm okay though," she replied.
"I found a hotspring about three minutes walk from here. There's supposed to be one in this area with special healing powers. Maybe you should go find out if that's the one," Nuriko whispered, trying to keep Tamahome from hearing. If all the other seishi figured out about the spring he wouldn't be able to get time to himself later, when Miaka was finished.
"Oh, thank you," she squeaked, giving him a hug and going off in the direction he'd indicated.