~Tears of a Phoenix~
A Fushigi Yuugi/Harry Potter Crossover
DISCLAIMER: Rowling-sensei owns Harry Potter and Watase-sensei owns Fushigi Yuugi. Chibigreen only owns a homemade Chichiri plushie. *glomps plushie*
Note: I've changed Miboshi's name from "Karasu Kuchibashi" to "Wataru Kuchibashi" and Ashitare's name from "Kiba Ashippo" to "Tsuyoshi Kibaro" because so many Seiryuu names I used began with "K," and I wanted some variation.
~Chapter 12~
*Ayuru's POV*
In the great hall, there stood a gigantic, much too extravagant Christmas tree. From tip to trunk it was decorated with many colorful and creative ornaments. Most prominent of the decorations was a glowing halo around the tip. There were also many-colored fairies sitting on or floating by some branches, apparently magicked there. Wrapped around the tree were colorful streamers.
Christmas trees seem to cause people to feel some sort of emotion, good or bad. The many ornaments, the evergreen boughs… Some feel happy when they see it; some feel depressed, perhaps from a thought of why this Christmas is for some reason worse than previous ones. It is a familiar picture to many, even if they do not know the reason Christmas was began.
The spirit of the holidays has been tainted by commercialism… 'Get so-and-so this so fabulous thing! It is the perfect gift for the holidays.' In the Muggle world, at least, you will hear that more often than not. Higher sales are the true meaning of Christmas to businesses. I may only be eleven years old, but I'm not stupid. I watch the world around me and try to see the truth, and the realistic version of that. I am optimistic only about my own future. I know the truth: some human hearts have no amount of good in them and never will.
Yet I do not hate Christmas, so I stayed at the school. I'd have to celebrate Christmas at my house, but I want to see what Christmas at this school is like. Another reason is it's hard to get wizardly transportation at this time of year. So I decided not to bother myself and to just stay here with the others. Kaen, Yui, Shunkaku, Koutoku, Wataru, Tsuyoshi, and Chuin all stayed, as well as those Gryffindors – the ones that were slowly becoming friends with some of us.
What is troubling me the most is how two of those staying here, Kaen and Genrou, can use two spells that I have never heard of. My father has high expectations of me because he feels that I can achieve much in the world through the power I possess. Because of this, years of my life were spent doing little but study spells and potions. In Japan, your parents are allowed to tutor you in magic, but you can only use the magic out of their presence after graduating from a wizard school. That is why I was so surprised by Kaen and Genrou's spells. I have never heard of them, and I have studied countless books of charms and spells.
Later, I tried the spells for myself based on what I had seen them do. Nothing happened at all. Magic-wise, I'm very, very strong. It should have created some sort of effect in any case, but it didn't. Either Kaen was more powerful than me – which I doubted – or somehow, the spell only works for certain types of people. Perhaps it is tied into emotions. In any case, I'll never be able to use the spells that they used.
The next day was Christmas, so I went to bed earlier than usual. I don't care about getting up early for Christmas, but my roommates do. If I didn't, I would be very tired the next morning.
********
"Aniki! Wake up! It's Christmas! It's Christmas" Shunkaku said with, in my opinion, too much happiness that early in the morning. I groaned and buried my head under my pillow without opening my eyes. The extra hours of sleep had just been thrown away.
"Shun-chan, it's five in the morning," came Koutoku's tired reply.
A sniffling sound. "But, Aniki…!"
It occurred to me that I most likely would not get back to sleep, so I pushed my pillow away and rolled on my side. That way I can see what my other roommates do to Shunkaku. Chuin is very grouchy in the morning. "Shunkaku, will you just shut up?" he snapped. His voice was muffled because he was under his covers in an attempt to stay asleep.
"Why should I?"
He threw his covers off and sat up, glaring. "Because-"
Koutoku jumped to his feet. "It's okay. I'll go with you."
Shunkaku beamed at his twin. "Yay! I got you a great present! You'll love it," he said as they walked out of the dormitory.
With a sigh, I threw back my covers and stood up. The room was still gloomy and dark, but I managed not to trip over anything as I made my way out the door.
The Slytherin tree was nice, almost as nice as the tree in the Great Hall. Its ornaments and ribbons were all in silver and green, and those were also the main colors of the various presents beneath the tree. One present wrapped in blue drew my attention. I picked it up and looked at the tag. 'To Yui, Ayuru, Koutoku, Shunkaku, Chuin, Wataru, Tsuyoshi, and Kaen.' Why was it addressed to those seven students and me? I settled down on a comfortable chair with the book-sized package in my lap. Shunkaku and Koutoku were just beginning to open their first presents.
"Shunkaku, Koutoku, stop opening those and wait for everyone else," I ordered them. The present felt important, and I never ignored my hunches.
Shunkaku opened his mouth, perhaps to ask why, when he glanced at the package. His gaze went unfocused for a second, and then he blinked. "Is that the Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho?" he asked me.
"The what?" Koutoku and I said at the same time.
He ignored us. "The Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho. It had a lot of spells in it. I found it in this room one morning and read one, and so did Kaen, but then Chuin seemed freaked out when he saw it and took it away."
Kaen read from it? Is that where she learned that spell? If Chuin took it away, why was it back and addressed to him? It didn't make much sense to me. "What spell did you learn from it?"
He looked embarrassed. "Actually, I'm not sure that I can do it. It said that only 'Suboshi' could do it, and isn't Suboshi a constellation?" I nodded. I believe it was, but only in some obscure Chinese mythology. I remember hearing about it when visiting Kyoto once, since there's rumors about that town tied to the Chinese beliefs. Shunkaku continued, "I've never tried the spell. It might've not even been a spell. It looked more like a weapon to me."
I leaned back in my seat, eyes focused on the package. Eventually the twins went back to opening presents, but only the package on my lap interested me. The book – if it was the book that Shunkaku was talking about – held a large possibility that I could become more powerful. Kaen had already learned a powerful spell from it, and that spell was currently above anything I could do. But this book… With it, I could become hugely powerful. It would make me powerful…more powerful than anyone.
Maybe I could even be powerful enough to make my father come back from the United States and be with Mother again. He had left Mother all alone in Japan since before I was born. I, Gi Ayuru – the bastard, whose father left his unmarried mother for a job in America's Ministry of Magic – could become better than my father. Maybe Mother would stop crying over him…
My fist clenched at the thought. It had to be the book. Only then could I achieve what I wanted. Only then.
A branch suddenly broke in the tree, grabbing my attention. Reflexively, Koutoku caught a large blue ornament that fell from the branch. Then I noticed something important: it was not an ornament, but an egg. It was a bulky, opaque egg that had a shell like a gemstone, but was definitely an egg.
The others entered the room around then, stretching, chattering, and yawning. Slowly, the movement quieted as all of our attention was drawn to the egg. I felt funny inside, like I had performed a powerful spell. And then, it cracked open.
*Genrou's POV*
There was a big freakin' egg in the fireplace. It sparkled like it was made of rubies or something like that, and it was definitely burning. No one else was downstairs in the Common Room yet, but I was. So I said the first thing that came to my mind. "Bloody &%*@! What the $@%# is that?" So sue me if it wasn't polite. I keep that language to myself, or at least I try…
"Um… what does 'bloody &%*@' and '$@%#' mean? Isn't '&%*@' something in the afterlife for bad people?"
Turning around, I reddened when I saw Doukun. "Doukun! You weren't supposed to hear that!" He doesn't know what they mean? How sheltered is this kid?
Another voice came down the stairwell. "He wasn't supposed to hear what, no da?" Houjun was smiling as usual when he exited the stairwell.
"Er…"
The timely entrance of Miaka, Ryuuen, Taka, Saihitei saved me, and Juan because the first thing Miaka noticed was the egg. "Genrou," she asked, puzzled, "are you cooking that?"
I replied, "No. I thought one of you might…" I trailed off when I saw the egg move. Suddenly, I was rooted to the floor as I looked on. It rocked back and forth, and my arm started to tingle almost painfully, like the pins-and-needles feeling I get after my leg falls asleep.
The ruby eggshell abruptly split in half, and a flame roared out of it. Then the flame had wings, and it was soaring across the room, dropping harmless sparks on our heads as it flew. It wasn't a flame; it was a phoenix.
The baby phoenix unexpectedly dropped out of the sky, and I reflexively dove and caught it before it hit the ground. From the floor, I stared at it as it settled down in my open hands. It was a beautiful crimson color, with orange and yellow tail feathers that draped behind it. On its head was a similar crest, but those feathers were short. Its black eyes stared at me, and then cocked its head and blinked. Cutely. The %$*# thing was being cute. Then it hopped out of my hands and waddled towards the Christmas tree in front of me.
It was only then that I noticed. I had crossed half the room in about half a second. There are a few choice words I could use to describe what I felt, but they were the type that Doukun wouldn't understand.
The scarlet phoenix went on waddling until it came up to a present wrapped in a similar shade of red. Wait… Aren't phoenixes supposed to be orange with not that much red? Something's up here.
Soon everyone was crowding around. Miaka had picked up the phoenix and was cuddling it while it crooned happily. Doukun picked up the package that the phoenix had dropped. He stared at it as I got up and dusted myself off. Cat hair had somehow found its way onto my clothes. With all the pets we have, I'm not surprised. Doukun waved the package excitedly. "It's to all of us!"
"Nani?" asked Taka, grabbing it. He looked at the tag. "Well… This is strange. Anyone mind if I open it?" No one said no, so he did. A slip of paper fell out. Sai picked it up for him and read it.
"It says to take care of the phoenix," he said, sounding puzzled. "I'll quote it exactly. 'The phoenix is not a pet, but he is your responsibility. All of you have to take care of Suzaku.'" He flipped the paper to check for anything more, but found nothing. "Then the phoenix's name is Suzaku. That's oddly familiar…"
Taka finished tearing off the wrapping. When he did, my eyes widened in surprise. "Hey, that's the Shi Jin thingy! Hey, Ryuu-kun, I thought you returned that to the library." The Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho had appeared one day in our Common Room. I'm the one who found it, and in it I found the 'Rekka Shinen' spell. The spell is actually much longer than 'Rekka Shinen', but the short version I say has more or less the same effect. It's just not as powerful. Anyway, I have a hard time remembering the full version.
Ryuuen was bemused. "I did take it to the library. Maybe it was meant for us in the first place?"
"Maybe," Juan agreed, "but we won't know until we open it." Tama-neko ran into the room and jumped onto Juan's shoulder. The cat purred and rubbed his head as Juan to rubbed him. That cat's unbelievably spoiled.
*Tama's POV*
I watched Juan as he curiously watch the Suzaku children open up the book, Suzaku sitting on Miaka's shoulder. The children of Seiryuu and Suzaku had finally found their gods – and their god's books, for that matter. They were so hopeless at first. When mysteriously presented with an ultra-powerful book, they were not supposed to return it, but they did anyway! Byakko help us. I mean, gods! The pets go through endless amounts of trouble under my supervision to get the books to their owners, and then we have to do it all over again.
The other pets still wondered how I always knew exactly what to do. It would be very curious to me, too, if I weren't Byakko's equivalent of Taiitsu-kun's Nyan-Nyans. That's right. Byakko has a few select kitty's, including me, that he placed around the world to help him out. We range in species from tigers to domestic cats, but all of us have predominantly white fur.
It's all turning out right on schedule. It will take a few years, but the beast-gods' strength will be restored, as was that of Byakko and Genbu a hundred years ago. 'Really,' I mentally tell my creator as Juan petted me, 'you should've chosen this soul for your celestial warriors. None of them could measure up to my Mitsukake.' I purred happily as Juan rubbed exactly the right spot on my back. Being a cat is the best.
In my mind, I could hear my creator half chuckling, half purring. 'Just keep on helping them and make sure that they don't mess up.'
'That'll be hard. They're humans. And I will help…if I feel like it,' I say. He chuckles again because, after all, no cat would say anything different.
*Ayuru's POV*
I reread the note that was with the Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho. The egg had hatched into a small blue dragon that was currently being held by Yui. He was too cute for me, in the way that all babies instantly get girls to say, "It's so cute!" Apparently, the dragon's name was Seiryuu, and we were supposed to care for him. Great. Wonderful. I would refuse if I could, but it seems that I have no choice. Besides, if taking care of a dragon means that I can use the book's spells I really don't care. I open the book.
The first page is not spells, but other information. I read it aloud to be polite to the others. "'Of the four gods of heaven, the fiercest is the blue dragon, Seiryuu. He is known for his quick temper and hunger for power. Like all of the four gods, his seven celestial warriors…' That is a close translation of 'seishi,' right? '…his seven celestial warriors all represent parts of himself and are named after the stars he rules. With the twenty-eight constellations split evenly between them, he rules with his brothers: Genbu, Byakko, and Suzaku. His seven constellations are Nakago, with the symbol for 'heart'; Soi, with the symbol for 'tassel'; Amiboshi, with the symbol for 'high spirits', and his twin constellation Suboshi, with the symbol for 'angle'; Ashitare, with the symbol for 'tail'; Tomo, with the symbol for 'root'; and finally Miboshi, with the symbol for 'basket'. With these seven constellations, the priestess of Seiryuu can replenish Seiryuu's heavenly power and gain the power to grant wishes.'"
If the priestess could grant wishes, and I was a seishi, could I finally get what I wanted? But there was no way that the puny little dragon could be a god, right? The thought process disturbed me, so I snapped the book shut. "It's very interesting, but it can't wait until after breakfast." The excuse worked; none of the others suspected that I was, in reality, very troubled.
Wataru glanced at Seiryuu. "But what about the dragon? Is it really…a god?"
I shook my head. "It must just be a normal dragon. Why would we get a god?" I truly believed what I said. See, we can all be idiots sometimes.
It was Tsuyoshi who brought up an important fact. "Isn't owning a dragon illegal here?" We all stared at him. He's not the type to say something smart. "What'd I say?"
Chuin waved the matter away. "Nothing. Don't worry." He was the first one to walk to the exit. "We don't actually own him, so I'm sure Dumbledore will let him stay with us. If he refuses to leave us, whether they want for him to leave or not doesn't matter."
He had a very good point. If Seiryuu won't leave, they might have trouble removing him. Besides, Dumbledore knows most of what goes on in his school. It'd be stupid to try to hide something as obvious as a dragon.
But when we got to the great hall, we had a surprise waiting for us. Specifically it was the Gryffindors, with Yuuki Miaka holding a phoenix. They were apparently trying to explain their situation to the teachers. I saw that Taka had a red version of the Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho.
"Oh," said Kaen loudly, "so you got one, too?"
The teachers and Gryffindors looked at us. Each face took on a similar dumbstruck expression that was amusing to see, except for Professor Dumbledore. As always, the wise eyes in his kindly old face were twinkling. He definitely had some idea of what was going on; he probably knew more than we knew, at least. For one moment, I felt lost as I realized that I might not be in control of this situation at all. I shook it off. I was always in control of my life. Destiny didn't exist. I was in control. But I couldn't help but feel disconcerted. What if I was wrong?
Author's Notes: I finally got this chapter out. Sorry it took so long, but lately I've been feeling kind of…apathetic…towards writing. (Don't worry; I never give up on my fics.) Now I'm tired... but I'm off to write in my other fics. Did Ayuru or Genrou go OOC? Probably. But it's an AU, so I have some artistic license there… right? *hides from the hardcore Nakago and Tasuki fans*
Sara Jaye – Oops. Now I feel embarrassed. ^__^;;
shadow priestess - What? Question marks and Chinese characters were everywhere? What do you mean?
TA Maxwell - ^__^ I'm glad you like it so much.
Keimei – The Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho books are going to cause a lot of excitement for the seishi. ^___^ It will be fun!
Draconsis – It's nice to know people enjoy this fic. ^___^ I got the chapter out as soon as I could.
Kang Xiu – I'm glad that I did Shun well, and I'm glad that you liked Kaen even if Soi does annoy you. I didn't like her that much in the series, either. ^___^ But I do now.
Kryssa – I made Shunkaku say "Aniki" so often to show that he's still a bit immature. He'll gradually get more mature, and he'll cut down on his obsession with protecting his brother. And you have no idea how much Tama is sticking his nose into things… *evil laugh*
ember-fang – The Nakago/Tamahome story was okay, even if I don't really like the pairing that much.
PrincessKitty-Chan – I don't have time to check over my own work. _ What I write is what I put up because I don't have a beta reader. But I'm glad you liked the Quidditch match! (I didn't, but I'm the author, and that's normal.)
Kouryou Sanomi – I'm not exactly giving the name of the cat that got the Cerberuses mad. I thought it'd be more fun if any reviewer-who-is-a-cat could imagine herself as the kitty if she wanted to.
Anonymous – You'll see how all of the powers work out! I even have something planned for Hotohori's power with swords. And I'm glad you're glad it's not a Nuriko/Miaka story. ^___^
Flying heart – Ashitare won't be exactly nice, but he will be much nicer than he was in the anime.
red wolf – I'm glad you like the story.
Singing Nightingale – I'm glad you like the story. ^__^ And I'm happy whenever I can fit a bit of Nuriko in – he's such a fun character.
Today's recommendations: To make up for the inadvertent long pause between updates, I decided to recommend some really nice sites (instead of really nice fics; that'll resume next chapter). 1) Watase's Sorai (http://www.yuuwatase.org/) because of its scanlations (scanned manga translations) of some of Watase-sensei's works that aren't available in English elsewhere. 2) Toriyama's World (http://www.toriyamaworld.com/) because it has GREAT scanlations of tons of other manga! Hikaru no Go, Hunter X Hunter, +Anima, Black Cat, Bleach… Ah, heaven.
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