Disclaimer: Fushigi Yuugi belongs to Yu Watase and not me.

Author's note: Thanks to the following reviewers: The Invisible Becca-Chan: Yup, I figured it's about time and if you know Tasuki, I bet you can guess what his reaction will be. Keena: You're very welcome and hey don't sweat it. I just wish I didn't have to let you wait this long for ch. 15. chibi-ken14: Thanks, I'm so flattered. I hope you're still interested even after such a long delay. Tasuki fan girl: I'm glad you enjoyed reading it, but hey don't sell yourself short. What was it they say about being your own worst critic, 'cause I certainly think I'm not that good of a writer. Well, everyone I hope you enjoy reading this chapter and just a side note I will be using the names Mei and Meiling interchangeably throughout this chapter, but I'm still talking about the same person. Happy reading!

Chapter 15

"Come on, work you stupid piece of . . . Urgh!"

Meiling stared at the mirror in frustration before giving a dejected sigh. She finally slumped down on the floor in defeat and gave up trying to work the mirror. Taiitsukun had forbidden her to continue on the journey with the priestess and her seishis but she never said anything about not being able to watch them. The only problem was she did not know how to work her sister's viewing mirror.

Meiling looked back at her reflection with watery eyes. "Tasuki …," she whispered and wondered if the red headed seishi was alright. Suddenly a vague outline began to take shape on the mirror's surface. Meiling moved closer and held her breath.

"What do you think you're doing?" Taiitsukun's disapproving face stared back at her through the mirror's reflection.

The young demi-goddess gave a startled scream as soon as she recognized the controller's face before her. Disappointment quickly took over her shock as realization that it was her sister's reflection she saw and not Tasuki's. For a minute she thought that she had finally gotten the spell right.

"Nothing apparently," Meiling said forlornly. She began walking away, but stopped short as Taiitsukun herself materialized in front of her.

The girl kept her head down. "Go ahead, just give me the lecture so I can leave."

Meiling waited for her sister to speak. When seconds passed by with only silence, the demi-goddess glanced up and saw that Taiitsukun just remained motionless, watching her. Meiling inwardly cringed. It was times like this that she was wary of her sister the most. That was why Meling was surprised when Taiitsukun just sighed and slowly shook her head.

"I never should have let you go."

Meiling frowned at her sister's words. She had never heard Taiitsukun sound so resigned before.

"I'm sorry. It's not your fault," Meiling said. "I know my interference may have messed up some cosmic balance or another, but if I had to do everything all over again I wouldn't change a thing."

"You love him that much?"

Meiling's lips parted, ready to deny what was obvious, but then just shrugged. 'What's the use?' she thought. 'She's been watching all this time anyway.' The young girl looked back at her sister, despair written all over her face.

"What am I suppose to do now Taiitsukun? It hurts so much to not be with him, but at the same time I know that there's no way I can stay with Tasuki." Meiling clenched her fists as tears welled up in her eyes. "I don't know what to do. Please help me. You're the controller … you must know something … I can't … I just can't …" She bowed her head and let the tears come.

Taiitsukun watched her sister, her eyes filling with compassion as Meiling sobbed uncontrollably. With a gentleness she rarely shows, Taiitsukun drew closer to her sister and lifted the girl's chin in one hand and wiped the tears on her cheek with the other.

"I should have awakened you decades ago," the controller said softly. "At least that way you would have learned enough to not let your heart rule you."

"Is that what you had to do?" asked Meiling.

Taiitsukun just stared back at her and the demi-goddess knew the answer without hearing it. 'I guess that explains a lot about her,' she mused silently.

Meiling sighed and made her decision. "I'm sorry. I'll stop being selfish and train harder." She chewed on her lips before continuing more hesitantly. "Could I maybe see Tas-, I mean Miaka and the others one last time?"

Taiitsukun nodded and instructed the mirror to show the seishis. She watched as Meiling's eyes filled with longing at the sight of the red-haired seishi. Her sister may think her heartless at times, but at that moment Taiitsukun realized that she did not want Meiling to turn out like her.

'Maybe she can live the life I never had,' Taiitsukun told herself. Outloud she said, "Perhaps there is a way I can help you, Meiling."

******

Miaka handed the round mirror back to Chichiri with a smile. "I'm glad Hotohori is doing fine."

Chichiri nodded as they both stoop up from the steps and walked towards the garden. When they reached the real Sairo, Tamahome met his former master in town and the group were promptly invited to stay at his home.

After a few minutes of silence Miaka spoke up. "How's Tasuki doing?"

"Still the same, no da. I've never seen him this quiet before, no da. Tamahome tried cheering him up, but he just ended up getting burned, no da."

The priestess giggled before sobering up. "I guess Mei's disappearance hit him harder than we all thought. I never knew the day would come when he'll end up eating his words about not liking girls."

"Speaking of Tasuki." Chichiri motioned at the approaching bandit.

Miaka watched in concern as Tasuki walked without really noticing his surroundings. She glimpsed dark circles under his eyes, which at the moment looked unfocused. 'His mind must be elsewhere,' she thought.

"Hi, Tasuki!" Miaka greeted out loud and cheerfully ran up to the seishi.

Tasuki started and focused his eyes on the priestess. He saw Chichiri walk up behing Miaka and gave both of them a small smile.

"You wanna do something?" asked the girl. "I was thinking of going into town and look around a bit."

"Nah, that's okay. I think I'll just stay here and …"

Tasuki stopped short as all three of them noticed that a blinding light appear above them. It was quickly followed by a screech as the small figure of a girl came hurdling down on top of Chichiri. The girl sat up and gave a cheerful laugh at the monk as he looked over his shoulder from the ground.

"Sorry about that, Chichiri," Meiling said. "I guess I still need to work on my teleportation spell."

"Daaa…"

Meiling looked up and continued to grin. "Hi guys!"

Miaka squealed in delight and threw herself at the other girl. Chichiri dusted himself off as the two friends hugged each other. Tasuki just stood there, mouth agape in disbelief.

The green-haired girl stepped away from the priestess and looked at Tasuki. The smile was still pasted on her face, but deep inside she was a nervous wreck. She did not know how Tasuki would welcome her, now that he knows her secret.

"M-Mei," the bandit stuttered. "You're back."

She gave him a small wave, not sure what to do next. She saw him slightly shake his head and watched as his face became .

"What the freak are you doing here?" he asked, eyes turning cold.

Meiling's smile falttered. She wanted to tell him that she came back for him, but debated whether or not it was too early to tell him that.

"I wanted to help," she offered lamely. Her eyes darted nervously at all three of them. "I'm sorry I couldn't tell you guys the truth before, but I really didn't mean any harm."

"You honestly believe we'd trust you now!" sneered Tasuki. "You should have freakin' stayed were you belong."

"No! Tasuki wait!" Meiling shouted after the seishi as he briskly walked away from them. She bowed her head and softly whispered, "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry, Mei," Miaka said, offered the girl a smile and put an arm around her shoulder. "I'm sure he's glad to see you again. You should have seen how depress he was when you were gone!"

Meiling tried to smile back, but her eyes still held the doubt she felt. "I don't really blame him or anyone else if they're mad at me. I lied to you all. I just wish …" She sighed and looked at the direction Tasuki disappeared to.

"No one's mad at you, Meiling, no da," Chichiri assured her. "We were actually worried what Taiitsukun might do to you, no da. Speaking of which, does she know that you're here?"

The girl nodded. "but first I think you should stop calling me 'Meiling.' It'll be just 'Mei' from now on." At the monk's puzzled look, Meiling explained everything that had happened in Mt. Taikuoku.

********

Mei walked towards Miaka's room. She was worried about her friend after she ran out of the room during dinner. She did not know what was going on between her and Tamahome, but the meal had been quite awkward- what with the way the blue-haired seishi was acting and with Tasuki ignoring her completely. The others did seem happy to see her again and had even stayed afterwards to talk with her after dinner. She also wanted to talk to Tasuki, but he left as soon as he had finished his meal. Tamahome also went off somewhere, but from the way he was clutching his stomach she can easily guess where.

The green-haired girl gave an involuntary shudder as she remembered how Miaka's cooking tasted. 'Do people really eat that stuff in her world?' she mused silently. She was just about to turn into the next corner when Mei heard Miaka's voice.

"…small tower. I want you to go there with me before the sun sets"

Mei peeked around the corner and saw the priestess standing by Tamahome's doorway. She heard Miaka say something about believing in Tamahome, but forgetting about him if he doesn't show up.

She started to follow Miaka, but froze when she heard someone speak from behind her.

"So, is this the reason why you came back?" the voice said. "To spy on us?"

She whirled around with a gasp and found Tasuki staring at her coldly.

"Tasuki, I didn't hear you coming." The seishi opened his mouth to reply, but Mei continued to speak. "Hey, what's with the tower by the old temple? I heard Miaka say she was going there."

The bandit's eyes widened in shock. After a bit of persuasion from Mei, the seishi told her about the legend that if a couple kisses on top of the tower as the sun sets, they would be together forever.

"But there's also rumors about that place being infested with monsters," Tasuki finished.

"Oh no!" Mei exclaimed. "And she went off by herself."

Without waiting for a reply from Tasuki, Mei went to follow Miaka. She hadn't taken more than a few steps when she felt a hand clamp on her upper arm.

"Where the freak do you think you're going?" asked the redhead.

"To keep Miaka safe. And don't even give me that lecture about not being able to look out for myself!"

Tasuki quickly closed his mouth at the look of determination on Mei's face. He questioned his action and asked himself if it was wish to anger a goddess.

"Well, if you're gonna be so stubborn about it, I better come along then and make sure you don't do anything stupid."

Mei's face broke into a sweet smile. "I knew you'd see it my way," she said happily and this time made a grab at his arm.

The red-haired seishi let himself be dragged along the dirt road, his mind still stunned by Mei's dazzling smile. It continued to amaze him how the girl can never seem to take offense to anything he says. His mouth twitched into a small smile as he thought, 'No wonder I love this girl.'

Tasuki gave his head a shake at the that discovery and quickly reminded himself that he was in fact angry with Mei.

"Tasuki, is this it?" asked Mei, breaking through his thoughts.

"What? Uh… yeah."

When they reached the top, they did not find Miaka anywhere, aside from her ribbon.

"Where do you think she is, Tasuki? Oh gods, what if those monsters got to her already?!"

"Shh, it's okay." he quickly assured the girl, wrapping his arms around her.

Tears were threatening to spill on Mei's cheeks and Tasuki did not know if he can handle seeing her cry. "I don't think anything happened to her. I didn't feel anything wrong. She probably just got tired of waiting for Tamahome and left."

The seishi felt Mei relax, but continued to hug her. They stayed that way for a few more minutes, just enjoying the closeness they both had longed for. Finally, Mei lifted her head and gazed into a set of intense amber eyes. Tasuki found himself drowning into her eyes, before settling his gaze on her lips as it parted and moved.

'That's weird,' he thought, 'Isn't sound suppose to come out of her mouth?' He suddenly blinked as he felt Mei give him a shake.

"Tasuki," she said, "Were you listening?"

"Wha-… huh?" he replied, embarrassed that he had actually zoned out.

Mei blushed in return, her eyes flickered downward before braving its way back to his. "I said I was sorry for not letting you know who I really was. Please don't be mad. Taiitsukun made me promise and I told Chichiri not to tell anyone."

Tasuki smiled inwardly and knew that he could never stay angry with her. But on the outside the bandit frowned and gave the girl a curt nod before pulling away.

"I guess when this is all over you're gonna go back to Mt. Taikuoku, huh?" he asked with a scowl, not quite meeting her eyes.

"Well, mortals can't really stay indefinitely at Taiitsukun's palace, but I suppose I'll stay for a short visit before moving on."

Tasuki tried to process what she had just said, but couldn't quite believe if what he heard was right. "Can't stay? … Mortals?… What exactly are you saying?"

Mei looked down and fidgeted with her fingers. "Um… you know how a goddess, or a demi-goddess for that matter, can't interfere in any mortal business? Well … Taiitsukun said that the only way that I could come back and help you was to become a mortal."

The seishi stared at Mei in disbelief. "Y-you traded your immortality just so you can …" Tasuki couldn't finish the sentence. He was so surprised that she would give up being a goddess. His heart beat faster as he wondered if he could possibely be the reason she wanted to stay with them.

'Well she did say, come back and help you,' Tasuki told himself. 'I wonder if she meant "you" as in me or "you" as in all of us?'

Out loud he asked, "Why would you … What made you do that?"

"Because I …," Mei hesitated, wondering if she should tell him the truth. "I wanted to be able to help and protect Miaka … and … maybe … maybe even protect you."

The last part was whispered so softly that Tasuki had to lean in closer just to hear it. Hope soared within the seishi's heart. "Protect me?"

Mei shyly nodded and peeked up at Tasuki underneath her bangs. She found the bandit grinning down at her.

"Can that wish go both ways?" Mei owlishly blinked at Tasuki's question and the seishi chuckled before continuing more soberly. "I nearly went crazy worrying about you when you disappeared like that. Now that you're back I'll make sure to keep my eyes on you and keep you safe."

Mei's lips slowly curved into a tender smile, her eyes shining with all the love she had for the red-haired seishi. "You promise?"

"I promise," he answered with a fanged smile.

From the corner of her eyes, Mei saw the sun about to set and realized that they where still on top of the legendary tower.

"Tasuki, about that legend?" Mei began shyly. "Do you… do you think it's real? I mean, do you believe in it?"

Tasuki glanced at the setting sun before turning back to the blushing girl. "I don't need a legend to make me stay with you forever. I promise never to leave you and follow you wherever you go. But then again," he continued with a wink as he wrapped both arms around her waist. "I'd be a fool to pass up and opportunity like this."

Happiness she had never known filled Mei completely and she held her breath as Tasuki's face drew closer to hers. She closed her eyes, raised her lips and almost fainted at the softness of his touch. 'This is where I wanna be forever,' she thought dreamily.

Unnoticed by them, a shadow slowly crept closer to where the couple stood embracing.

Author's notes: So what do you all think? I know I'm a bit behind in my updates, but please stay with me. I'll be wrapping up this story with one or two more chapters. And I have started e-mailing readers for updates, so if you're reading this story and I don't have your e-mail, please leave it in the review so I can tell you if I've updated.