Hello all! I'm back! *crickets chirp* Damn…oh well…*glances over reviews* Hmmm…what's with my almost ever-present hatred of Taka and Miaka? Good question, deserves an answer:
Starting with Miaka, I hate her voice. Araki Kae's voice is so annoying. She may be popular among other people 'cause it's so cutesy, but I can barely listen to it. What makes people think she's pretty? Maybe one girl shouldn't judge another's beauty, but she is bizarrely thin despite how mush she eats and overall she just doesn't seem to have the beauty that would make all the men she comes across fall for her. Yui's prettier than her in my opinion. She's an idiot. How many people actually thought Hotohori was a woman when he went to see Miaka the 1st time? He may have looked feminine, but the voice! He has a deep and damn sexy voice that I think is impossible to mistake for a girl. Umm…okay, so that's my opinion… but anyway… She believes everything she hears. Did anyone ever think that Eiken was really gonna tell her who Tasuki was if she kept quiet? He just wanted to…uh, you know… And she also had so much faith in her friendship with Yui. Touching maybe, but there's a certain time when you have to realize that your friends can turn on you, maybe because of an accident, but it can happen. Her obsession with food terrifies me. She was worried more about the fish Mitsukake took for Tama-chan than the fact that she could have died from the demon plague. It's one friggin' fish! There are plenty more fish in the sea! Literally! I'm not totally sure about this 'cause I can't read Japanese, but in one of my original Japanese FY mangas, Nakago uses food to lure her in and get the Shinzaho from her or something like that. It's Nakago for Suzaku's sake! The main bad guy in the series! If he offered you food and you were the miko of the rival country would you eat it? Now opinions from fans of Nakago aside, he technically is evil in the show. Maybe you believe he's a good person, but for all intense purposes he really isn't someone Miaka should take food from, you know? She doesn't understand what she's passing up by leaving Hotohori. Granted, that leaves room for my story, but Hotohori is a rich, kind and over all wonderful person in my opinion and she went for Tamahome who is constantly hurting her and crushed Hotohori.
And now Taka: 1st thing again, voice. I can no longer watch Japanese Gundam Wing without putting Tamahome in wherever Heero is. It's so bad! I see Tamahome in every role Hikaru Midorikawa has done! It's like there's something up his nose! I hate his thing with money. 'But it's for his family or Miaka' you say? Maybe so and I know that, but he takes it too far. When Miaka and Yui were first in the book, he wanted money for saving them and from Miaka when she wanted help looking for Yui. Did they look like they'd have money? There's a certain line between 'needing' and 'wanting' that I think he crossed. He's always hurting Miaka! When she told him how she felt the first time, he crushed her! There are better ways of letting some one down than 'I just don't feel the same way.' Or whatever he said. Then there was the thing where he went to Kutou after he promised Miaka he wouldn't and got turned against them. A promise is a promise and you can't just go and break it. There had to have been other ways of delaying Kutou's forces.
Hmmm…I'm done now. *glances up at rant and blushes* I hope everyone's seen all of FY…otherwise I'm in trouble…Hmm…I seem to hate Miaka more than Taka…
Now that I'm done with that, I have to get off my bitchy rant mode and back to authoress mode…*sigh* I'm so moody…
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A hall full of fire…
A small child running through screaming in between coughs…
Her clothes, torn and burnt…
She stops at a door and swings it open, burning her hand on the doorknob…
She began to scream and cry at something…
She knelt down and pushed a fallen part of the ceiling away from something and began to cry harder…
Two bodies lay where the plaster had been…
Dead for quite a while…
Without warning, another part of the house cracked, fell and sent the little girl flying across the room…
She lay there, unconscious…
More parts of the house began falling…
As a piece was about to crush the girl, what appeared to be a red wing covered her body…
She opened her eyes for a moment and saw a large red phoenix extinguishing the flames around her…
She blacked out again…
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"Lily! Lily, wake up!" A soft voice startled her.
"Wha? Huh? Where am I?" She found herself leaning on Chichiri's shoulder.
"On a plane going to L.A." Chichiri pushed back her slightly messy hair. "Are you alright? You weren't sleeping well…"
"I…I think so…" She looked around. Most of the people on the plane were asleep. It was pitch black outside.
"Did you have a bad dream, no da?"
"Yes and no…"
"Explanation?"
"It was kind of a nightmare…I was reliving the night my parents died…but I learned something too…"
He looked at her, worried. "What, no da?"
"I know why I didn't die that night…" She rested her head back on his shoulder.
He held her close. "Why?"
"Suzaku…"
"Suzaku, no da?"
"Uh-huh…he…her…er…it protected me until I was rescued…I though that was just hallucinating…"
"What happened, no da?"
"I don't really remember…but when I saw my dead parents some other part of the house fell and knocked me out. That's when I…" She rubbed her left hand. Chichiri stopped her and took her hand in his.
"I know…continue…"
"I woke up for a few seconds between the time I saw them and was rescued. I can barely remember seeing what looked like a giant firebird over me…I figured I was having some like pre-death hallucination so I never told anyone…"
"You think Suzaku saved you, no da?"
"Yeah…now that I actually remember, what I saw then and in my dream looked like the pictures of Suzaku I saw in Konan…"
"Maybe Suzaku did come to you…" They continued talking about what possibly could have happened that night, though they were being watched.
"Jeff, why don't you get some sleep? You've been watching her for an hour…" Carol stared at her husband.
"I don't like the fact that I don't understand them. Who knows what they could be planning? And I can't believe Jason just gave his ticket to that guy…"
"Does it matter? She's happy…she likes him. She finally found people who understand her. Jason was right…she belongs where she's happy."
"You're just going to give up your sister's daughter to a bunch of people you don't know?"
"I don't want to, but she's happy. She knows them. We stayed out of her life after Annette and Anthony died…so this is what we get now…we lost her because we didn't try…"
"…" Jeff stayed quiet and continued to watch Lily and Chichiri with cold eyes…
Chichiri felt the cold stare as Lily settled down to sleep again on his shoulder. He looked up and locked eyes with Jeff. They stared at each other, in total silence for a few minutes. Chichiri then shifted his gaze back to his sleeping girlfriend. He paid no more attention to Jeff.
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Taki set down the phone. "Alright…6 tickets to L.A. We're leaving the day after tomorrow. It was the soonest flight available."
Jason was leaning against the doorway. "Are you sure?"
"Yes…I'm sure. What do you think I just spent the last hour checking for?"
"A hair appointment…" He muttered.
Taki grabbed a dishtowel from the back of a chair and whipped it at his arm. He yelped. "Watch it, blondie. I'm in no mood right now."
Kei rolled her eyes. "Jeez…and I thought I didn't get along with you Jason…"
"Ah, whatever…I gotta get back to my apartment…" He got off the doorway.
"Why don't you just stay here?" Kei looked up at him.
"What for?"
"Do you think you're going to stay in LA after this is all over?" Kei looked into the living room. Nuriko, Tasuki and Hotohori were watching TV.
Jason lowered his head. "I dunno…probably not…not like they're gonna want me to stay over there…"
"You'll always be able to stay here, you know…" Taki set the dishtowel down.
"Nice to know…I'll think about it. Right now I have too much on my mind."
"We know…here." Kei handed him a set of keys.
"What's this for?"
"Keys to the house, garage, and some other things around the house. I got them made after the tournament. Just in case."
Jason stared at the keys. "You were planning on me coming to stay here?"
"More like hoping."
"Hoping? I thought you hated me."
"Jason…you're like my older brother. I'm not supposed to like you. But I don't hate you either, never did and I never will." Kei smiled.
Jason gave her a little half smile. "Thanks…I'll probably some back later tonight. Gotta go get my stuff."
"Sure. Just remember, the door's always open and if it isn't you have keys." Taki giggled.
Jason rolled his eyes. "I'll see y'all later." He left the kitchen and walked past the living room. Nuriko noticed him go by.
Tasuki snickered. "Better go catch your boyfriend, Nuri-chan."
Nuriko glared at him and hurried after him. "Jason, where are you going?"
"Back to my apartment. I gotta go get my stuff."
"Your stuff? Why?"
"I'll probably be moving in here after all this is over. That is, if it's all right with you." He smiled.
Nuriko hugged him tightly. "Oh course!"
Jason chuckled and kissed the top of her head. "You know…the sooner you let me go, the sooner I can get my stuff and get back here."
Nuriko giggled and kissed him again before letting him go. "I'll be waiting."
"I won't keep you long then."
Tasuki watched from the doorway, as Nuriko and Jason played around a bit before he left. Then Nuriko rejoined Hotohori in the living room. To say he was jealous of them would be the biggest understatement ever. He knew Taki and Hotohori, Chichiri and Lily, and Jason and Nuriko were together, happy, admitted, couples. He shoved his hands in his pockets and lowered his head as he walked upstairs to his room. Hotohori and Nuriko looked at each other and sighed.
"It's a shame he doesn't tell her, isn't it?"
"It would be the best thing to do…" Nuriko sighed.
"What do you think he's afraid of?"
"Rejection, humiliation, I could go on. He doesn't realize that that won't happen though. Kei does love him…"
"Tasuki's never been afraid of anything. What makes admitting he loves her any different?"
"He's not used to having feelings for women…"
Hotohori sighed and stood up. "I'll be back…"
Nuriko sighed as she watched Hotohori go up the stairs, most likely to speak to Tasuki. She slowly shook her head and went back to daydreaming about Jason.
Hotohori stopped in front Tasuki's partially open door. "Tasuki, may I speak with you?"
"Sure. You're the emperor, you can do what you want." His response was surprisingly more depressed than he expected.
"Technically not here. I'm just another person here. I want to talk to you about Kei…"
His shoulders jerked a bit. "What about her?"
"Why don't you tell her you love her? It's painful to watch you and her."
Tasuki turned to face him. "If I may be so bold as to ask, why do you give a damn whether or not I tell her?"
Hotohori was quiet for a few seconds. He really didn't want to say Kei was his cousin, that would just make it harder to admit it to her. "Because it's hard for me to watch both of you like this. You're hurting yourself and you're hurting her. I really don't think you want to do that. Am I right?"
Tasuki stared out the window. "Yeah…" He sighed. "I don't know what to do though…every time I've tried to tell her, something interrupts me."
"Persistence is key. If you love her as much as I think you do, you'll keep trying. Nothing truly worth having ever came easy."
Tasuki stared at Hotohori. Hotohori stared back. They had never seen eye to eye on anything before. An emperor and a bandit who only worked together because it was their destiny now held something else between them. Kei had unknowingly become a permanent link between two totally opposite people who normally would never had even met..
"Umm…thanks Hotohori. Yer right…I do need to keep trying…" He scratched the back of his head.
"And the sooner, the better." Hotohori nodded and left Tasuki's room.
No sooner did he leave than Tasuki saw Kei walk past his open door with a laundry basket. He got up and stood in his doorway, watching her. She was putting away towels in a linen closet.
"Why are you watching me so intently?" She kept her eyes on her work.
He shrugged. "No reason really…"
She got up from the floor. "No reason, huh?"
"Not really."
She turned her back to him and pushed the basket into a bathroom. "Really? Or were you staring at my ass again?"
"Again?" He arched an eyebrow and he walked up behind her.
"Don't tell me you forgot…" She looked at him and shook her head.
"What?"
"It was like the 2nd time I ran away from you. After that you let me borrow your jacket."
"Oh yeah…I remember… You were so easily offended back then…"
"Back then? It was only a few months Konan time anyway…or something like that…I think…let's see here…" She began to think about how time passed differently in their 2 worlds.
"Years, months, weeks, days, what's the difference? Stop thinking." He muttered and pulled her into his arms.
"You're unbelievable sometimes…" She giggled as he kissed her lightly on the neck.
"And?"
"Nothing…" She rested her hands on his arms and put her head back on his shoulder. She sighed deeply.
"Are you sure? Is there something else bothering you?" He quickly swept her up into his arms and carried her into his room.
"Nothing bothering me necessarily. You know I always have something on my mind…I'm just that way." She wrapped her arms around his neck and he sat on his bed.
He nuzzled at her neck and ran his fingers trough her hair a few times. "Well stop it. You think too much and it makes me worry…"
'Worry? About me? Why? Maybe he does love me…someday I'll have to find out…' Kei said nothing more and pushed all her thoughts away as Tasuki tightened his grip on her and kissed her.
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Later that night, Jason did come back and moved into the last open bedroom, though Kei made a lot of jokes about him not sleeping in that room much. Nuriko and Jason both blushed a lot during that time. After dinner, Taki went to her room to pick out clothes to wear to in L.A. Hotohori, of course, stopped in.
"Taki?"
"Huh?" She walked out of her closet with two shirts.
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure. But first, which is better, the red or the green?"
"Red."
"Okay." She tossed the green shirt back into the closet. "What is it?"
"This may sound a bit rude, but do you love Jason?"
Taki gave him a confused look. "Do I love him?"
"Yes."
"In what way?
"What do you mean?"
"Hotohori, there are a lot of different kinds of love. There's boyfriend/girlfriend, parent/child, siblings, and/or close friends. Which way do you mean?"
"Any of them."
"If I feel anything for him, which I usually don't, it would have to be siblings. When Kei and I met Lily, we met Jason too. After that, he became like our older brother for the times he was around. Why?"
"You've spent a lot of time with him since he got here…"
"And so has Nuriko, but she the one who loves him in the way you're thinking." She set down the other shirt and pulled him over to her bed. They both sat down. "Now listen to me, Hotohori. I love you more than anything in either of out worlds. There is no one else I could possibly love as much as I do you. Jason's just a friend. Understand?"
He nodded. "Yes. I'm sorry I thought that…"
She silenced him with a kiss. "I don't mind really. It was an easy mistake to make." She laid her hands in his. "No more misunderstandings though, okay?"
He smiled and laced his fingers with hers. "Uh-huh."
She leaned into forward and kissed him again. He let go of her hands and pulled her closer. Out of the corner of her mind Taki heard a click as the timer on her stereo made it go on. Soft music began to come from the speakers. It was Ayumi Hamasaki's Who. (lyrics can be found at animelyrics.com) She smiled as Hotohori pushed her back onto the bed and nuzzled at her neck.
"I love you, Taki…"
She purred contentedly. "I love you too…"
Hotohori noticed something around her neck. "You still wear it…"
"What? This?" She touched the phoenix pendant he bought for her. "Of course I do. Why wouldn't I?"
"I wasn't sure what you did with it after I pushed you too hard."
"Oh, that. Well, after that I just sat in my room and stared at it, trying to figure out how I felt about you."
Hotohori said nothing more and went back to kissing Taki. They were soon asleep in each other's arms. Kei walked past the door at around 10:30. She cast a jealous glance at them, closed the door and went back to her empty room.
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A fire red convertible stopped outside a large iron gate. Chichiri stepped out of the driver's side and moved over to the other side. He wore black slacks and a white shirt. The door slowly opened. Lily stepped out. She was dressed in a black skirt and white blouse. She held a large bouquet of red and white roses in her hands.
"Are you sure you want to do this, no da?"
"Not really. Have I been sure of anything I've been doing lately?" She pushed open the heavy gates. "You're a surprisingly good driver."
"Thank you, I think no da."
"Well, I wasn't sure you'd be able to."
"Learn more every day, no da." He took her hand and they slowly walked down a long winding path.
A surprisingly cool breeze blew past. Lily pushed her hair from her face. "Up there…" She pointed to a hill where a large rectangular stone cast an ominous shadow on the grass. They strayed from the usually path. Chichiri cast a few glances at the monuments around them. He read the names on the stones mentally.
Lily knelt down and closed her eyes in front of a large monument. She took a deep breath. "Mom…Dad…I'm sorry…" She ran her fingers over the letters on the bottom of the monument. "Anthony and Annette Reddinbaour. Loving parents and friends…and I couldn't see it until they were gone…" She began to cry.
Chichiri knelt next to her and hugged her. She cried for a few minutes then let go of Chichiri. Through her tears, she pulled a chain off her neck. A small key dangled from the silver chain. She slowly placed the key in a small lock and opened some glass paned doors. 2 porcelain vases stood inside with dried roses in them.
"How long has it been, no da?"
"Too long…13 years…" She took the roses out of the vases and laid the in front. She replaced them with the roses she brought. The doors closed and locked with a slight click.
"Tell me again why you're doing this, if you don't mind, no da."
"I haven't been here since the funeral. I promised myself that I wouldn't come back until I came to grips with their deaths…" She stood up again. "I couldn't do it by myself though. I did with your help… Thank you…"
He stood up and held her close. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder. "Anything for you, no da." He gently stoked her hair and looked back at the monument. 'Mr. and Mrs. Reddinbaour, you have a wonderful daughter and I will do my best to be worthy of her…'
After a few more minutes of being at the monument, Lily and Chichiri slowly walked down the hill, back to the gates.
'Take care of her…' Chichiri stopped and his head snapped up. He looked around but saw no one.
"What's wrong?"
"I thought I heard someone talking to me, no da." After checking a few more times, he settled on the fact that no one was around but them.
"Must have been your imagination."
"Guess so, no da." They reached the gates of the cemetery. "You go to the car. I'll close the gates, no da."
"Okay."
Chichiri turned around and began to pull the gates closed when he looked back up at the hill. His eyes widened when he saw two airy figures standing at the top. Voices rang in his head again. 'She's our only daughter…please…take care of her…' He suddenly realized that he was seeing the spirits of Lily's parents. 'I will.' 'Thank you, Chichiri. We can finally rest knowing she is happy.' 'I will do my best.' 'And you will succeed…' He snapped back into reality when the heavy iron gates clanked back into position. He looked back at the hill, but the figures were gone. He looked over the sign on the gates, Resurrection Memorial Cemetery, and quickly went back to the car. He mentioned none of what he thought he saw to Lily.
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Quick thing, I don't actually know if there's a cemetery called that in Los Angeles. I live in Chicago, or close to it anyway and there's a Resurrection Cemetery not too far from me. That was the first thing that came to mind. I've never really been out of the Midwest really. I wanna travel…
Ah, never mind…I'll be back in a couple o' weeks. Bye all!
~*~Shadow Hawk~*~
(A.K.A. Rose)