~*~Afterthoughts of an Adventure~*~
~*~Jason and Nuriko~*~
Nuriko slowly walked upstairs to her children's room. In two separate cribs, twin girls of about 2 years were sleeping soundly. She smiled as she watched them. One of them started to wake up. The little girl looked up at her mother and smiled.
Nuriko picked up the little girl named Nyoko and began to cradle her. The girl clung to her mother and cooed happily while Nuriko tried to make her fall asleep. She smiled to herself.
One adventure changed my life…
Kei was the strangest girl I've ever met, but I'm glad I met her. When I saw her, it was easy to see she wasn't from our world. I figured she was a miko. I figured we'd have to summon Suzaku again. After all, I was back from the dead. That was so weird…I remember dying after my fight with Ashitare then nothing…then being awake in the palace again. Hotohori was there too. I thought we were dead. Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. In a land of gods and such, nothing is impossible.
I didn't hang around those girls much. They other guys were more interested in them. Well, that makes it sound romantic…I shouldn't say that. Hotohori seemed romantically interested in Taki, but Chichiri and Tasuki were just confused by the other two. And me? Well, there was no one for me…yet…
I was vaguely told about what happened to Kei in Kutou, but I also didn't want to know. Thinking about that place made me sick. So many of my friends had been hurt there and Kei seemed to be just another name to add to the list.
When we ended up in the miko's world, we were shocked. No one knew why we were sitting there in the park that day, the 7 of us…and then Kei made that interesting little discovery: I was a woman.
It was what I wanted but I was still in shock. I mean, two seconds ago I had been a man using my chi to send three other world girls home. I must admit though, I looked damn good as a girl. I always kinda thought I should have been a girl.
The miko's world confused me a lot. Streets were busier than Konan's with cars everywhere. But I did have some knowledge of what was going on around me. We decided later that Nozomi had given the knowledge to fit in while we were there.
Then I met him, Jason. I didn't know his name at first. When I first saw him he was completely covered in black. You couldn't tell anything about him. All I really knew was that he saved Miaka's life that day. She just had to run into the street…I will always wonder why she was our miko. Oh well, that was in the past…
Later that day, I saw him again. Well, a little more than before. Now I knew he had blonde hair. He was really nice and really strong too. His name was Jason. Still not much though.
Looking back on it, I don't understand why Taki didn't react more to a sandy blonde haired man named Jason. She did know him after all. Oh well, sometimes things just don't occur to you at the time.
Then I saw him at the mall. That was when I actually got to see his face. He was drop dead gorgeous. I was really thinking like a woman now. I thought Hotohori looked good, but Jason was just…wow…
He'd laugh so hard if he heard me talk like I think.
He was so reluctant to admit he had feelings for me. It took me a long time to find out he didn't want to hurt me. He had way too much family drama going on. I thought he was gonna explode. He had so much hurt hidden. I'm glad I got him to tell me. When he finally got it off his chest he told me he loved me.
I was almost reluctant to say I loved him back. I was still, deep down, a man. The woman part of me just said it though. I fell helplessly in love with him so I told him. We were happy for a while. Then we had to go back to Konan.
I cried for a long time. There was no way I'd still be a woman when we got back. I thought he'd leave me. Why would a guy like Jason, who obviously wanted girls, want me as a guy?
As soon as we got back, I ran away from him. I couldn't let him see me as I really was. I hid out in my room all day. I ate before he did. I made I was never near him. That is, until he caught me in my room…alone…
I was so upset when he came. I thought it was over. He knew the truth so I thought he just came to say goodbye…
That wasn't why he came though. He asked me if I was still the same person. At first, I thought no. I was a man, definitely not the same. But that wasn't what he meant and I realized that when he said he fell in love with me. He loved me as a person and it didn't matter what gender I was to him. He accepted me as a feminine man and still loved me. I asked him if he thought about being gay. He said he didn't care. What mattered was that he had me.
Losing Kei was hard on him. He was he big brother. He only really cried in private. Seeing him so depressed hurt. I didn't know what to do. I didn't even know Kei that well so it wasn't like I could help him…
Then suddenly she was back. Jason didn't show it much but he was happy, I could tell.
When we came back to their world I became a woman again. It wasn't that I hated being a man or that I didn't want to be gay, that never mattered to me, but I wanted to have a family with Jason. And now, we do have that…
Nyoko was still awake in her mother's arms. Nuriko shook her head.
"Why won't you go to sleep?" She asked softly and continued to cradle she daughter.
"'Cause I'm not tired?" A voice laughed behind her.
"Jason? You're home already?" Nuriko was surprised to see her husband standing in the doorway.
"Work got boring. I snuck out." He walked in and kissed her.
"You're terrible…" He chuckled. Their other daughter began to wake up. "Why do they always have to wake up at the same time?" She sighed.
"Because they're twin." He went to the other crib and picked up the other girl. "Naoko, are you being a pain for your mother?"
Naoko giggled happily at the site of her father. Nuriko smiled at the sight of her daughter and husband so happy.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Jason loved his family so much. He was finally luck enough to say he had a family of his own, not one that found him convenient to take in. His daughter happily clung to him. He was sure Naoko would turn into a Daddy's girl.
He watched Nuriko sit down, still trying to make Nyoko fall asleep. He couldn't blame her. Once the girls were asleep again, they might be able to have a few moments to themselves.
One adventure changed my life…
I always thought no one wanted me, not even my real parents. But I suppose my trip into another world proved me wrong. There were people that cared about me, even someone who loved me.
Then there was Kei. She didn't hate me, but she certainly didn't like me. I dunno why I teased her so much. I met her when I was about 15… I thought she was kinda weird. Very opinionated, very strong, the kind of girl who grows up to save the world…yet…at the same time, she was so scared, in a way, almost weak… When I found out how her mother and stepfather treated her I didn't want to believe it. Kei was such a lovable girl if you got to know her. I treated her like a little sister. Maybe that's why I teased her so much. She always lightened up when I did, though I don't think she'd admit it…
I went to Japan with the intention of finding Lily and leaving, pretending it didn't happen. I knew Lily ran away. I didn't want to push her into coming back, but I had to do it. I had to find her and break the news to her that I thought would make her hate me. It just wasn't that simple though…
I was taping certain parts of my trip, just for the hell of it. I ended up taping what I later found out was Lily and the others coming back from Konan. I ended up saving that Miaka girl too. Though that was probably something I could have done without. Though I did get to see Lily and that was the first time I caught sight of Nuriko.
I thought she was cute. So what? I've thought a lot of girls were cute. None of them actually meant anything though.
Later that day I saw her again and I got a better look at her. There was something about her that other girls didn't have. I suppose it was the fact that she had a brain and knew how to use it. She handled herself very well in the café but at the time I didn't think she could take on two guys at the same time. I found out later she probably could have.
Now I guess I have to admit, at first I was nice to her because she knew Lily. After all, I did need a way to get to her before her aunt and uncle did. But later, I really started to like her. She was cute, she was smart, she was strong, and the thing that was most attractive about her, to me at least, was that she was very understanding. If I had told any other girl on the planet about what I had done, they'd probably call me an insensitive jerk and never speak to me again.
Not her, though…not Nuriko. She stood by me and wouldn't let me feel sorry for myself. She gave me the strength I needed to get through that.
I had a hard time swallowing everything they told me about Konan. I didn't believe a world could be in a book. Who would? There aren't too many people who believe in the kind of magick required to create other worlds. No one really knows if it every existed. I for one, being a big skeptic, never believed it existed in the first place.
Wow was I wrong…
I was shocked to see it all. Kei said she wished I could have seen the look on my own face. Guess I must have looked pretty dumb. But what did they want from me? I'm an orphan. I grew up in a less than loving home. Sure my mother cared about me…but the man I was supposed to call my father…he…he didn't like me much…magic was nothing but wishful thinking that I had no time for. I was too busy trying to please that man… Looking back, why did I bother? Nothing was good enough…I don't know…it was probably that part of me that wanted to be a full part of a family…I swear I'll never look at my daughters the way Mr. Reddinbaour looked at me.
Realizing Konan was real was one shock, finding out the girl I loved was really the guy I loved was something completely different. When Kei told me, I didn't want to believe it. I wasn't gay. At least I didn't think I was. I spent the whole day thinking.
What did I think of Nuriko now? Did I care she was a he? Was I worried about being gay? Would Nuriko still love me now that she was a he?
Later I knew my answers. I still loved him. No, I didn't care. No, I wasn't worried about my sexual orientation. I hoped he'd still love me.
It was hard, but I found my way to Nuriko's room later that night. That was single-handedly the most awkward moment in my life. What was I supposed to say?
We really didn't talk much…but in the end, he still loved me. We stayed together. He asked me what I thought about being gay. I told him I didn't give a damn. I didn't fall in love with Nuriko because he was a girl at the time. Jeez…that sounds weird…ah…whatever…I fell in love because of the person he was. And that hadn't changed just because he went though a magical gender change.
I'll never understand the way my emotions work…
Why was it I cried so much when Kei died? When Lily left home, I was upset…but I never cried…I didn't think I'd see Lily again…I didn't think I'd see Kei again…why the hell did I cry for one and not the other?
Was it because one had just disappeared and the other had been lying in front of me, stone dead? That must have been it…
I cried a lot…only in private though…I regretted anything mean I'd ever done to her…I wished for another chance…I hated myself for teasing her…I vowed I'd make up for it somehow…
And then I got my chance…she came back. That goddess person gave her her life back. You know, I'll never completely understand what was going on there, but I'm also happy not knowing. I don't think I'd get it…but anyway, I'd never been so happy to see her.
But, of course, I attempted not to show it. Nuriko made me get up though and I told her that I had missed her. Deep down, I couldn't have been happier.
I stopped teasing her when we got home. I treated her better. I watched over her. I was waiting for Tasuki to come back to her. I knew how much they loved each other and it hurt us all to see Kei so down. I don't know if she ever truly smiled from the time we came back without them till the time we saw them again…
But it's okay now…we're all together again. We're happy again…
The girls finally fell asleep again. Thankful for some peace, Nuriko and Jason put Naoko and Nyoko back in their cribs and left the room. As they walked back to their room, Jason noticed something.
"Well, I'll be damned…she did it again…" He touched his neck.
"Who did what?"
"Naoko took my chain again…" He turned to go back. "I gotta get it."
"Don't she'll just find a way to take it again later. Let her have it. Besides, she'll wake up again." Nuriko held him by the hand.
"I guess you're right…she might as well keep it…" Nuriko yawned a bit. "Tired?"
"A little…those two keep me busy 24/7…"
"I'm off for the weekend. You can take a break."
"Thanks. I really do need it…"
"You do look tired…" He picked her up and carried her the rest of the way to their room. "You getting sick?"
"No…I'm just tired." She wrapped her arms around her neck and rested her head on his shoulder. "Having two 2 year olds really takes it out of you."
"Do you regret it?" He laid her down and sat next to her.
"No…not at all." She smiled. He chuckled. "They keep life interesting."
"Interesting? Is that what you call 2 AM feedings and infant sicknesses?" He was reminded of the nights they both ended up staying up to feed and care for the girls.
"Yes. Yes I do." She smiled widely and fell asleep next to him.
He gently stroked her hair and smiled. For once, he was happy with his life.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Naoko is such a Daddy's girl. Will she always be that way? If Naoko takes after Jason, will Nyoko take after Nuriko?
~*~Shadow Hawk~*~
5/5/03