DISCLAIMER: I do not own FY but like many others at this site, I am merely borrowing the characters temporarily. Architectural references are borrowed from the Forbidden City in China. THE RISING SUN is a product of my imagination. Any potential similarities to characters, currently living or historical, are not intended.

RATING: PG-13

The Rising Sun ©Jez (l.t.s.) 2003.

SUMMARY: AU, romance/drama featuring characters borrowed from Fushigi Yuugi.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: This story is constantly under revision.

WARNING: Some cursing and general Wan Fei language.

CHARACTERS:
Yuk Ming Jade Dawn - Yuki Miaka
Kiu Ching Fung Immaculate Wind - Kishuku Sou / Tamahome
Wan Fei Flying Cloud - Shunu Kou/ Tasuki
Emperor Chu Kim Tin Heavenly Sword - Saihitei / Hotohori
Suet Lam Purple Snow - Kourin
Tin Po Heavenly Retribution - Tenbun

The Rising Sun
written by Jez (l.t.s.)

Chapter 3:

A Compromising Injury

Palace of Celestial Purity
Centre of the Inner Court, Forbidden Palace

He sat staring at the letters before him, not comprehending a word. His mind contemplated a far deeper dilemma that no simple answer could solve. But his advisers had laid out the evidence piece by piece.

Her background… According to them, that alone should have instilled suspicion from the start.

Her frequent absences… Excuses of illness had never been proven. She relied on her own servants and never utilised the palace physicians. That act further aroused their suspicion.

Her letters… Each had word spelled a passion that most only dreamt about, few could write about and fewer still could feel. These last set were the most incriminating of them all. Even he himself began to doubt the sentiments he thought they shared.

For with love, of all things, you could surpass everything.

She had told him that once upon a time, when he had fallen into the depths of loneliness and she had rescued him with the promise of friendship, hope and love. He had believed her and found comfort in her beloved care.

Beloved… The word cut right into his heart as he blinked the haziness in his eyes away.

She couldn't have done it. It went against everything that he believed and knew her to be. Yet he could not explain the facts outlined by his advisers as pure coincidence. He sighed. The only recourse left is to give her a chance to explain.

He looked up when a falsetto voice echoed through the large room.

"Your Majesty, the Princess Suet Lam seeks an audience."

"Let her in."

As the doors opened, the exquisite figure glided in with effortless grace. She knelt down, greeting him respectfully but through the shining tresses gracing her brow, shimmering eyes peeked shyly at him and a small smile curved the ruby lips… and as always, his heart melted against the onslaught of it. His current worries fled from his mind.

Without another thought, he stood up and rushed down to her side, reaching out to clasp her hands in his, a grasp so tight and urgent that her face flew up in surprise.

"Suet Lam." He whispered, the word a beloved sound in the depth of his heartfelt voice, as he pulled her to him. She smiled and leaned towards him, laying her cheek against his chest.

Your Majesty, my love.

oOo

MEANWHILE...

At the Palace of Purity (Palace of the Second Prince)
East of the Inner Court, Forbidden Palace
Peking, Northern China

Princess Yuk Ming, the woman who bore the title of The Phoenix Princess, was fuming. Her embarrassment at Wan Fei's trick overruled all sense as she sailed up with every intention of allotting appropriate payback. She saw him on the tiled roof of the Palace of Purity, the special quarters usually given to the Crown Prince and that was bestowed to Wan Fei by his emperor brother. Wan Fei lay on the roof, face turned towards the warm sun, his hair glinting as red as the ball of fire burning in the east, as he chuckled to himself in secret merriment.

"Wan Fei!" He stiffened at her call and turned around to face her.

"Ming Mei Pretty Dawn?" Only Wan Fei would call her by that old childhood name. She almost smiled despite her fury.

His face was a complete picture of shock. The slanted eyes were opened so wide that his amber irises looked tiny compared to the whites of his eyeballs. His mouth had dropped open, revealing fangs that had scared many a child away but irrevocably endeared his face into her heart. His expressions were still the open mirror that reflected his emotions as clearly as the dawning day. But then before her very eyes, he stood up, straightening, his face assuming a look of placidity, so akin to Kim Tin's tranquil visage that she almost stopped mid-flight. Having witnessed her impending attack, he now simply stood there and waited calmly. The morning breeze ruffled the soft fabric of his black robe and his blazing hair was immaculately tied back from his face. All in all, he truly presented every image of the stately and dignified Second Prince that he was now.

She found herself practically skidding to a stop. A few steps from him, she stood and surveyed him silently. In all the months that she hadn't seen him, he had changed. His outfit was no longer the stolen almost ill-fitting albeit expensive tunic of a bandit but an elegant billowing robe of classic black silk embroidered with gold dragons among pearly clouds. Her eyes wandered to his ears. Ah, the long jingling opalescent earrings have been replaced by jade studs. The chains around his neck had been discarded and in their stead, one large jade pendant, ornately carved and matching the studs in colour, dangled elegantly from his gold waist band. The damned bandit had turned respectable! She could barely believe it despite the vision in front of her eyes. Was she supposed to kneel before this august prince first, before she tackled him? She wondered in awe as she stared unblinking at the tensed masculine form before her.

Tensed? Hmmm...

She looked again, more closely this time and she almost swore that she saw him swallowing nervously. So, he was uneasy underneath all that royal finery. His dignified poise now looked more defensive than stately. His eyes held none of the outward calm that she had initially perceived to be so alike his brother. Instead, they looked almost guilty. No, make that damnably guilty. And he looked like he was bracing himself even as he waited for her to release her rage.

In that instant, all her anger melted away.

oOo

Shit. He was in for it now. Yuk Ming looked like she could spit fire after chasing through that amazing distance from her palanquin towards him. Her voice, gravelly and low, sounded more like a growl from a tigress than a woman when she called out his name. Admittedly, his hit had been slightly below the belt. His gut clenched suddenly almost in protest. Ok, so it was low to do that to a girl – Hell, everyone knows females were pathetic bundles of emotions. Even the most calm looking female would have a bloody cauldron of emotions simmering right under the surface, ready to explode in your face at any moment. Yep, even Yuk Ming. She was the strongest female he knew - not physically but in spirit but Her damned weakness was her heart. He knew that like he knew his name. Using Ching Fung had seemed like such a great idea a while ago and he hadn't been able to resist. Especially… when that last trick she did to him ended with him being stuck in this damned big prison of a palace. It was a neat move and at any other time, he would have saluted her but dammit, this had him involved! The leader of a bunch of damned tricky bandits to be tricked by a mere slip of a girl. Ugh! Although he grudgingly decided that she had probably meant well, it still didn't sit well on him. Damn her for ruining his great life in the rough mountains of KunLun in the West, where he was never confined by bloody god-damned rules... of be-ha-vi-our, for crying out loud... He sighed... those endless rules were the bane of his life now... It was her fault for changing his life to this bloody damned pre-dic-ta-ble existence where all bits of luxury babied him till they fell out of his ears and still they wrapped around him like damned chains. This was his excuse for thinking up his trick in case anybody should ask but Hell! When Kim Tin had mentioned that Yuk Ming was coming back, he had almost leapt in joy! Gods, he had missed the little girl so much! But no one is ever gonna catch him ever saying that! Guys have to be cool and that's a re-pu-ta-tion to protect afterall!

Ah well, the price of payback had been sweet while it lasted.

He had had his fun and now it was time to pay. If he had any grace, he would stand hear and bear the brunt of her rage. He looked back at her and waited for the inevitable. Standing still waiting so patiently was killing him. All he wanted to do was give her a bear hug and ask her how she was and what the hell she's been doing running around the bloody land... He really had missed her.

Damn it! He was no freaking girl. He tried to squelch the dumb sentiment away. He was a man, a tough bad-assed fearless ex-bandit leader, an awe-some and re-vered hero of the Western Mountains and now, an au-gust prince of the frigging nation. He would be damned if he was going to bawl in front of a girl. But hell, what the fuck was wrong with missing a girl? Especially a little girl? Nothing, right? Hmmph! Still, it's best not to let females know where they stand. That's one more step of power to them. He'll keep his cool and wait for Yuk Ming to vent her emotions and then they'll talk. Fuck, he can't wait to tell her... what? That he missed her? No, dammit to hell and back! How many times did he have to tell himself to... Stand bloody still and act like a real man! He almost sighed in frustration as he faced the avenging angel before him.

Thus, it was all he could do not to swear violently when the girl tackled him headlong. He prepared himself for the impact of the breaking tiles and the inevitable crashing fall to the marble floors below. And it was more than a split second later before he finally realised that he was standing stockstill, frozen in place exactly where he had been a minute ago. The only difference was that Yuk Ming's arms had encircled his waist and that she was hugging him as if there was no bloody tomorrow. The shock hit him in all its tidal strength.Instead of an attack, she had hugged him. The idiot! Yet despite himself, his arms reached of their own volition to wrap around her and he returned her impromptu hug just as tightly. For a moment, neither spoke. She held him so close that he could feel her softness pressed against him and the warmth of her touch was spreading through his skin. As the silence stretched, Wan Fei felt an uncomfortable sensation begin to build within him as the scent of her hair drifted to his nose. He had the sudden inexplicable urge to bury his face in the silken russet strands. She didn't seem so little to him anymore. It brought a puzzled frown onto his brow until the sudden moistness of his thin robe brought him back to his proper senses. He leaned back suddenly, loosening his hold to lift the girl's chin up. And he swore right into her face.

"Holy fuckin' hell! Yuk Ming, why the hell are ya crying?" To his consternation, she only shook her head and resumed the task of submerging his cloak in tears. His frown deepened. "Look, girl," he said, intending his voice to be gruff but to his disgust his low voice sounded gentle enough to mirror his brother's refined tones. He looked into her watery green eyes and felt a sudden tightening in his chest. "Yuk Ming, you can hit me, yell at me, anything... just..." Wan Fei stopped as her tears continued to flow. He felt like the biggest blackguard in all existence. She was crying and it was all his fault for dragging her through memories of Ching Fung... Only now did it occur to him that all those memories weren't all that perfect... Something had happened since he'd last seen her... Gods, he hadn't known. Still, it didn't render his actions any less terrible. Even worse still, now for the life of him, he didn't know how to make her stop crying. All of a sudden, his arms around her began to feel awkward. He didn't deserve her warmth. He tried to pull away but she wouldn't let him go. Really the girl had the strength of ten bulls. He felt like his ribs were going to be crushed. He ran a frustrated hand through his neatly bound hair, releasing the fiery strands from their neat arrangement.

"Dammit! Yuk Ming, stop crying. At the rate you're going, you're gonna flood the bloody palace! Just think of what our beautiful Emperor would say!"

A strangled sound between a giggle and a hiccup was his reply. Her sobs seemed to ease.

"Hell, Yuk Ming, I know I shouldn't have done what I did but fuck it, I wanted to be the first to meet you... But dammit, I wanted to do something different, to be different!" The words spoken gruffly produced an even worse outburst than he expected. She cried harder as her arms tightened around him.

He settled for a loud sigh. "Yuk Ming, don't cry!... I'm sorry."

"S-s al- (hiccup) right..." Hell, how he wanted to brush her tears away.

"I-It's j-just (hic) you-re... Y-you're..." she paused and took a deep breath... "the o-only one...h-here t-to wel-(hic)-come m-me home a-af-ter... what happened... (hiccup)"

Eh? She sees my trick as a welcoming gesture? He frowned. Holy Fuck. What the hell was Yuk Ming thinking? Wan Fei raised a hand to check her forehead for fever.

"…k-know you m-missed (hiccup) m-me..."

Bloody hell - she wasn't supposed to know that! His face hot, his ready tongue sought solace in bravado. "AH? What pork-brained idiot would think I'd miss a silly little girl like you?"

"…I-I – h-hav...m-missed… (hiccup)…you too …"

He stilled, his hand dropping to his side. Surprise brought his eyes to her face. He really hadn't expected her to say that. But damn, he felt the warmth of a thousand suns flood through him in that moment.

oOo

She found herself the sudden focus of amber eyes so brilliant that her breath stopped. She always thought Emperor Kim Tin's gaze were the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen. Now she realised Wan Fei's slanted gaze in all their glorious iridescence, catching all the light of the morning sun, could effectively equal the beautiful emperor's magnificent stare. All trace of her hiccups disappeared suddenly and her mouth suddenly felt dry. She didn't know why but she felt uncomfortable under Wan Fei's penetrating amber gaze. The gathering frown on his brow meant a whole barrage of questions was coming. She didn't feel up to an interrogation. She had already revealed more than she should have... a fragment of her insecurities that no one else was privy to, a part of herself she never revealed to anyone but Ching Fung, and now, Wan Fei... that part that was weak and soft and emotional... She sighed silently. Any more explanations would entail baring her thoughts about coming home, the truth about Ching Fung, about why exactly Wan Fei's presence made her feel good… She didn't even want to think of it herself. There wasn't time for it anyway. She had many hours of explanations to come up for her upcoming interview with the Emperor, a prospect she didn't relish. She sniffed and somehow, managed to look away.

Silence followed. It seemed strange that Wan Fei was quiet for once. The questions that she could feel bursting out of him didn't come and she almost sighed in relief. Still, she felt the weight of his searching glance on her face before he finally stepped away from her firmly.

"Hell, Yuk Ming." She looked up at him and waited.

"This isn't solving anything. You're probably hungry again, aren't you?" He asked, a hint of humour flashed through his eyes. "That's it. We're getting some food into that hungry stomach of yours right now. What do you think, Phoenix Princess?"

Her stomach growled at the mention of food. Wan Fei grinned. Without further ado, he lifted her up and prepared to jump down the roof to the gardens below.

It was at that particular unguarded moment that she felt a sudden sharp sting in her arm. She heard Wan Fei swearing a trail of the most violent curses enough to burn the most insensitive ear as his arms suddenly tightened around her. Puzzled, Yuk Ming looked down to find her arm bleeding, a paralysing feeling was spreading from the seemingly deep cut and she found her gaze blurring.

oOo

CAST:

Saihitei / Hotohori as Emperor Chu Kim Tin Heavenly Sword, Emperor of the land

Kourin as Suet Lam Purple Snow, a lady residing in the Palace more in the next chapter

Yuki Miaka as Yuk Ming Jade Dawn, the Phoenix Princess

Shunu Kou/ Tasuki as Chu Wan Fei Flying Cloud, The Second Prince and younger brother of Emperor Kim Tin

Kishuku Sou / Tamahome as Ching FungImmaculate Wind

Tenbun as Tin Po Heavenly Retribution, Agent of Princess Suet Lam

oOo

A/N: Thank you for reading. Please let me know what you think of this chapter