~*~Afterthoughts of an Adventure~*~
~*~Taki and Hotohori~*~
Taki walked down a hall to her son's room. A 3-year-old boy lay sleeping in his bed. His silver hair fell over his closed golden eyes. She smiled and looked at a picture of her family, her mother Saori, her stepfather John, Hotohori and her son Hiroshi.
From Hiroshi's room, she could hear Hotohori working in his office. She put the picture down and sat next to her son.
One adventure changed my life…
Life was always exciting with Kei around. I didn't have any idea of just how exciting it would get. We'd always been friends, yes, but I had no idea she actually kept so much from me. She knew so much more than I could have ever imagined.
Kei and I loved listening to Hikari's stories of Konan when we were young. I just considered them stories, how could I have known they were true?
How could I have known I'd meet a man that would make me forget all my pain?
I never knew why I chose all the wrong men, I just did. Maybe it started when my father abandoned us…it isn't really right to blame it all on him, I know, but it could have had something to do with it, right?
When Hikari found out where Kei was, she sent Lily and me to find her. So we went. I figured we could find her and leave. Boy, was I wrong. We just had to meet the boys first.
I had to meet him. I remember the way Hotohori would look at me when we first met. It was like every other guy that stared at me, yet at the same time, there was something deeper. He didn't see me just as another pretty face like everyone else.
He shared in the same hate of Taka that we had. For a while I wondered why. I mean, I thought they were teammates or something like that. I found out later about the love triangle between him, Taka and Miaka. From what I'd leaned, Miaka really hurt him and I know what it's like. That just gave me another reason to hate Taka and Miaka. Hotohori is so sweet. I don't understand why anyone would give him up for Taka. Granted though, that since she did, he was around for me.
He was so forward with his feelings about me, I didn't know what to think. So I didn't think, I ran. I didn't want to be hurt again. I also didn't think I could have been a good choice for an emperor. I stayed away for a long time, hurting us both in the process. Then he apologized to me…not that he was the one who should have been sorry.
Then later he bought me the silver phoenix necklace. I knew he was rich, but I didn't think he'd just toss money around like that. After he gave it to me I never took it off, at least not until we agreed that I'd give it to Hiroshi for him to give it to whatever girl he falls in love with.
Fate's a funny thing. It brought the guys with us to our world, including making Nuriko a woman. So much happened when we came back. I brought the truth to my mother and I stopped being afraid to be in love. Lily had to face her family and her feelings for Chichiri. Jason went through his own self-discovery thing. Thanks to Nuriko, he doesn't find himself to be the most worthless man on the planet. Kei stopped being afraid of her life. Tasuki made her want to live again. For so many years, I couldn't see Kei's pain or maybe I ignored it. Some friend I turned out to be.
I finally told my mother I knew my father ran out on us. It was hard and I think I hurt her too. But of course, she apologized to me for never telling me. The next person to say they're sorry to me is gonna get a black eye. Then again, if I do they'll apologize for something else…I can't win…
Fate's also a bitch…it took Kei away from us. We went to war. I expected people to die, but the soldiers not us. Nakago didn't play fair. He was going to kill Tasuki. But she knew, somehow she knew. And she stopped it. She died and she didn't even try to fight it.
There's nothing more painful than losing someone who has always been like a family member. Just before she died, she gave me this look that said she was sorry. People apologize to me for no reason. I just couldn't believe she was gone. I thought I'd never see her again. All that was left was the goddess in her body. That was what upset me the most. It almost felt like Nozomi tried to replace Kei but I know that's not true. Nozomi hadn't done what she did to be mean, she didn't have a choice in the matter.
I cried for days after Kei left us. All I could do was cry and scream about what happened. Hotohori tried to comfort me, but nothing helped.
I'll probably never know what happened that night Kei came back. She and Tasuki don't talk about it. Though I'm guessing they don't even know what happened really. But then again, I don't care either. She was alive and that's what mattered.
During that last year we were in Konan, Hotohori and I got married. Too bad we didn't have an heir until after we got out of the book and married again. Yes, we were married twice. After all, who would believe it if we said we lived in an ancient Chinese land, were married there and ruled a country for a few months? No one, right.
So know we all live together in a big, happy family. I don't know what I'll do if the book ever finds its way into my life again. Nothing ever goes right over there. You'll find happiness but it can be taken away so fast.
Taki reached down and brushed Hiroshi's hair from his face. To her, he looked like a tiny sleeping angel. The sliver necklace hung gently around his neck. She smiled and left the room. She walked down the hall to Hotohori's office.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Hotohori closed up his file folders and put them away for the night. He'd spent most of the night budgeting and checking progress on certain projects. He sat back for a moment. He had always had work to do as an emperor, but it didn't really compare to working now to support his family. It amazed him how much his life changed in a few years.
One adventure changed my life…
An emperor is always busy with matters of the country. A seishi is always busy with matters of the gods. Put them together and you never know what you'll get.
I always dreamed of the day the Suzaku no Miko would come. I had always hoped she would be the girl I'd be with forever. Then Miaka did come and I did fall for her. She was happy and nice. After being alone in the palace so long, I couldn't help but like her. I met her too late though. She had already met Tamahome and fell in love with him. For a long time I couldn't get over her, but the gods had other plans for me.
I had no idea what to think of the Kei when I met her. She was nothing like Miaka or Yui. She had attitude, she was smart, she was a fighter, she knew pain like no one else. Certainly a new example of girls from the other world.
Then I met her friends. Lily was like Kei in many ways. Then there was Taki. Taki reminded me of the high-class girls of Konan, she was not, however, as reserved and polite as them. With sliver hair and blue eyes, she was like no one I'd ever seen before. To me, her beauty wasn't even human. For a while I thought she was more. To this day, I've only seen 3 people with silver hair: her, her mother and our son. I may have thought she was more than human until I found out about all the pain she's been though. I could tell from her eyes that she had a loveless life. I asked her about her family and she told me about her mother but not her father. When I asked, she sadly shook her head and told me not to ask. She said he was gone. I thought she meant he was dead. Turned out he left them.
I fell in love with her too. Some people think I fall in love too fast, but now I believe that Taki was the girl I used to dream about, not Miaka. Though I was too upfront about it. At the time, I didn't know just how much she'd been hurt and I scared her away. It was a while before I got the chance to make amends with her.
She's a very dedicated woman. Even when Nakago took Kei and she wanted to find her, Taki knew when to let someone else go. Lily is stronger than her and she knew it. She knew what would be best for the people she cared about.
Telling her mother the truth was hard for her. It isn't easy to just tell someone that all the lies they told over the years were for nothing, that the façade her mother set up could be seen through. Telling made her open up more though.
When we came back to Japan I told her I loved her. She was shocked I just came out and said it. I think deep down she knew though. It certainly would have been obvious to anyone else that I loved her. After sorting though her feelings for a moment, she told me she loved me too. That was the happiest night of my life. For once, I had someone who understood what is was like to be hurt and actually returned my feelings.
Happiness is always fleeting though. A few weeks after we got together, we had to go back into the book and go to war. I worried for her safety and the others as well. They never saw a war like the ones we had. It was very new to them. The war was over sooner than it started though. A few soldiers died, but Kei's death stopped the war.
I remember the look on Nakago's face when Kei died for Tasuki. He didn't understand her actions. The poor man was never loved as a child and when Soi came and she loved him, he ignored her. He never truly understood love. I never thought I used 'poor' in reference to Nakago, but it's true.
Her death was more than anyone could bear. At times it seemed Taki would die of heartbreak. She couldn't bear the thought of living without her best friend. This was also the time I saw Jason exhibit any great deal of emotion. He was always very stoic, not much fazed him. I frankly didn't think he cared much about Kei, but he cried over her as well. Maybe even deep down, he was more hurt than I was. Lily had this look about her that made her seem like a lost child. That's probably how she felt.
Tasuki, of course, took it hardest. They'd been in love. They shared so much. I never could have predicted that those two would fall in love. But they made a good couple. He stayed away from everyone. It probably made him feel worse to be near anyone who was with the one they loved. After all, he didn't have his lover.
The gods often play with people. Fate took Kei away and Destiny brought her back. The morning she came back, Taki became the woman I fell in love with again.
We had one year left together before they had to leave. I didn't know if after the year I'd ever see Taki again so I asked her to marry me and become my empress for as long as possible. She said yes and we were married almost immediately.
The year past and she left. I didn't want to believe that was last time I'd see her and indeed it wasn't. By their time it was more than 2 years, for us, it was almost instant. I remember standing in the gardens one second and the next I woke up in a bed in the miko's world. It took us about a week to get acclimated with where we were and what kind of lives people believed we had even though technically we just arrived. The gods put us in certain places in life and we got used to it.
She almost passed out when I saw her again. She was speechless. Since then, we've been together. Hiroshi is our only son, I don't know if we'll have anymore. It doesn't matter to me if we do or not. She's happy and that's what matters to me.
Hotohori pushed himself out of his chair and went to the door. Before he could open it, Taki did. She gasped when she saw him right in the doorway.
"I'm sorry Hotohori. Was I interrupting you?"
"No I just finished." He stepped outside and shut the door.
"Oh. Good. You've been working for so long." She smiled.
"How's Hiroshi?"
"Sleeping. He has been most of the day." They walked down the hall past his room.
"He isn't sick, is he?"
"No. Just tired."
"Alright." They walked hand in hand down the hall.
Hiroshi wasn't asleep though. He was watching his parents go to their room. His golden eyes almost glowed in the dark room. He liked seeing his parents happy. He pushed his hair away from his face, smiled, and went back into his room.
He was thinking about the bedtime stories he always heard. He wanted to know how his parents could be so creative as to come up with a story that would make him want to go to bed so he could hear more.
Hiroshi looked at the chain on his neck. He knew why his parents gave him the necklace he wore, he just didn't see himself liking any girls.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Will Hiroshi ever find a girl he likes enough to give away the necklace?
~*~Shadow Hawk~*~
4/25/03