Disclaimer: Fushigi Yuugi is the creation of Yu Watase. It does not belong to me. But enjoy the story anyway.
Chapter 17
"I claim this body as my own. It is now Miboshi's."
Tasuki and the others looked in horror as Chiriko floated up in the air and summoned a monster.
"Chiriko, stop! What are you doing?" yelled Miaka.
"That's not Chiriko anymore, no da," Chichiri said. "Miboshi has taken control of his body."
The possessed seishi smirked. "Very perceptive. Now, until our priestess summons Seiryuu, stay here and play with my demon beast for a while."
Everyone gasped as the stone giant advanced on them.
'Crap,' thought Tasuki. 'This isn't good.' He looked around for Mei, but only cursed some more when he did not find the girl anywhere.
"Hey, has anyone seen Mei?!" he asked in a panic.
"Everyone run!" someone shouted as the floor began to crumble beneath their feet.
********
Mei panted as she ran up the steps. 'Please let this be the right one,' she pleaded silently. The temple was like a maze. She did not know how many times she had ended up on the wrong roof, but hopefully she had finally gotten it right. The green-haired girl paused to catch her breath when she reached the top. She pushed the double doors open and rushed out onto the rooftop.
"Who's there?" a voice to her left asked.
Mei turned to see a blond boy glare at her with hostility. Behind him, a shocked priestess of Seiryuu paused in the act of taking off her school jacket. Mei gave a sigh of relief when she realized they were just about to start the cleansing ritual.
Her face broke out into a cheerful smile. "I'm glad I got here in time," she said with a light laugh.
Blue eyes narrowed as they boy snarled. "No one's stopping the priestess from summoning Seiryuu. Not even you."
With a yell, the seishi launched his weapons at the intruder. (A/N: Sorry, don't know what that spinning ballamabob is called) Mei closed her eyes behind crossed arms and prayed the spell would work this time.
A soft thud sounded by her feet and Mei slowly glanced down. The two balls lay unthreateningly on the floor.
"Suboshi!" Yui cried out.
Mei looked up and saw that the seishi stood a few yards from her, immobilized. "It worked. I finally cast the freezing spell correctly!"
"What did you do to him?" asked Yui.
"Don't worry." Mei ran up to the blond girl. "I just temporarily froze him."
Suboshi gritted his teeth as he tried to break free of the spell. "Get away from Lady Yui. I won't … let you … urgh!"
Mei reach out a hand to the priestess. "Please, don't be afraid. I won't hurt you. Come with me. I know deep down in your heart that you don't want to do this."
Yui was taken aback for a moment. Her eyes went wide. "How … how did you know what I was feeling?"
"I can see the confusion in your eyes." Mei offered a sympathetic smile. "I can also see that you're scared."
Yui stared at the girl in front of her. Her kind face showed that she was trustworthy. 'But wasn't she with Miaka,' a doubtful voice reasoned inside the blond's head.
"I saw you with Miaka down below," the priestess voiced out her suspicion. "How do I know you're not one of her seishis, tricking me into-"
Mei cut her off as she shook her head. "I'm not. I am more than that, or was anyway. But I've been watching since the beginning and I know you feel you're the victim here. And you are, just not in the way you think."
"Don't listen to her," Suboshi said through clenched teeth.
"Please," continued Mei. "I can help you understand, show you the truth. Trust me. I can save both you and Miaka. I know you still care for your friend."
Yui looked at Mei's outstretched hand. She wanted so much to believe her. She was so tired of it all and wished it would just all end. The priestess again looked into Mei's eyes. She saw nothing, but honesty and kindness. No secrets, just complete trust.
'She reminds me of Miaka,' Yui thought. And in that moment, the Seiryuu priestess realized just how much she had missed her best friend. She remembered all the times they had spent together and knew that Miaka's heart was too good to betray her.
Yui hesitantly took hold of the former demi-goddess's hand and gave the girl a small nod. Mei smiled brightly at her and pulled the bond along with her as she ran towards the alter.
"Lady Yui!" Suboshi cried out helplessly. "Don't!"
"What about Suboshi?" asked Yui worriedly.
Mei ignored the seishi as she concentrated on lifting the shinzahos off the pillars. "Don't worry about him. The spell will wear off eventually."
The necklace and mirror slowly drifted towards them. Mei took the latter while Yui grabbed the necklace.
"Hurry," Mei told Yui as they headed for the door. "Before Nakago senses something's wrong-"
Both girls abruptly stopped when a figure slowly emerged from the doorway.
"-and shows up." Mei finished lamely.
"Nakago!" called out the immobilized Suboshi.
The tall seishi spared the boy a brief glance before giving Mei an impassive stare.
"You," he said in a hard voice. "I should have known you'd meddle in my affairs again." Nakago turned his eyes toward the priestess. "Come here, Lady Yui."
Mei stepped in front of Yui. "She's not going anywhere with you. She won't be a pawn any longer to your twisted plans."
"I knew you were going to make this difficult." Nakago's symbol flared and his eyes narrowed.
The green-haired girl immediately cast a barrier around herself and Yui. But Nakago's attack still managed to knock both girls to the farther side of the rooftop.
"Yui, are you alright?" asked Mei as she struggled to get up.
The other girl nodded and Mei focused her attention on Nakago, walking towards them. She looked at the shinzaho in her hand, then at Yui. With her mind made up, the former goddess opened a portal that led directly to Taiitsukun's palace. Mei handed the Byakko shinzaho to Yui then pointed at the glowing circle on the floor.
"Step through it, Yui. It'll bring you directly to my sister. Taiitsukun will explain everything to you."
"She's not going anywhere," said Nakago as he sent another wave of his chi force towards Mei.
The girl braced herself for impact as the seishi's attack collided with her shield. Mei grunted at the force then looked over her shoulder at Yui.
"Hurry!" she shouted. I'll hold him off while you get away. You and the shinzahos will be safe at Mt. Taikuoku."
"But …"
"Don't worry." Mei gave the other girl a reassuring smile. "I'll be okay. And I'll make sure Miaka follows you shortly. I know you two have a lot of catching up to do."
Yui nodded and looked at Nakago one last time before stepping into the portal.
"No!" Nakago yelled out. The blond seishi lifted his arms and hurled a powerful chi blast at Mei.
Mei screamed as Nakago's attack threw her against a wall. Using the wall for support, she lifted herself up and gave the seishi a tiny smile. "Give it up, Nakago. You've lost. Suzaku will soon be summoned and Miaka will wish for Seiryuu to be sealed up."
Nakago's cold eyes bore into hers. "That will be impossible if she's dead." The seishi turned his head towards Suboshi's direction and released the boy from the spell that imprisoned him.
"Go help Miboshi eliminate the priestess of Suzaku," he instructed the freed seishi.
Suboshi glared at Mei with pure hatred. "But I want-"
"I said go!" interjected Nakago. He gave the girl in front of him an evil smirk. "I'll take care of her myself."
The younger seishi left with a frustrated cry and Mei found herself alone with Nakago. 'I have to get Miaka and the others out of here,' she told herself.
As if he had read her mind, Nakago said, "Oh, you're not going anywhere." Then with his powers, the seishi forcefully pinned the girl against the wall.
A surprised cry escaped her lips as pain exploded in the back of her head. Mei gritted her teeth as she tried to break free. She saw Nakago raise his arms again and knew that this could be the end of her if she did not do something fast. With all the strength she had left Mei closed her eyes and concentrated in teleporting herself back to the room she last saw Tasuki and the others.
Nakago cursed when the girl disappeared just before his chi blast reached her.
******
Mei slowly opened her eyes and felt relieved when they encountered familiar surroundings. To her horror, however, she felt herself begin to fall. Mei's startled cry tuned into a painful groan as she hit uneven ground. She cracked an eye open and realized she had fallen through a lower level of the building.
"What in the gods names happened here?" Mei looked up at the huge hole that used to be the floor of the empty chamber. She was still looking up in amazement when she felt the building shake ominously.
Mei picked her way out of the littered room and silently prayed. 'Oh gods let Tasuki be alright.'
After running down an few corridors, Mei finally emerged from a doorway and came into a great hall littered with large pieces of rocks. In the middle was a lone figure, kneeling next to a prone body on the ground.
Mei ran towards him and called out, "Tasuki!"
The redhead glanced up. "Mei."
Tasuki quickly got up and met the girl halfway. He gave her a fierce hug. "Where have you been?" he asked gruffly, not sure if he should strangle her for running off on her own or to kiss her senseless now that she was back.
"Saving the priestess of Seiryuu, of course," she replied happily. Mei peered around the bandit. "What happened here, Tasuki?"
"It's Chiriko," he began haltingly. "Miboshi possessed him and the little guy had to stab himself several times to kill that thing inside him."
"Is he …?"
Mei saw that sad look in the bandit's eyes and knew that Chiriko was gone.
Tasuki blinked the tears from his eyes. "Mitsukake and I stayed with him until the end, while the others went to find Yui. Even after he was gone I still couldn't leave him. I told Mitsukake to go on ahead." The bandit's voice began to break. "I just couldn't leave him … I know he's dead, but dang it … he was just a little kid. I didn't want to leave the kid all alone even if he's …"
Mei placed a hand on his cheek. "It's alright Tasuki. Let's go take him out of here and give him a proper burial." She offered him a smile. "Maybe even next to Nuriko. Come on, let's go get the others so we can leave this place."
"What about-"
"Yui's safe. She and the shinzahos are at Taiitsukun's palace right now. She hadn't summon Seiryuu yet."
"I don't know how you did it, but you've got some serious explaining to do when I yell at you later."
Mei chuckled lightly. "Okay."
Tasuki took her hand and led her towards where his fallen comrade laid. They were only a few steps away from Chiriko's body when Mei abruptly stopped and gave a startled gasp.
The redhead turned around. "Mei what's wr-" Tasuki stopped short when he saw the gaping hole on Mei's chest.
Behind Mei, a few yards back, Suboshi gave a satisfied chuckle. He withdrew his deadly weapon from the girl's body and smirked. "I guess I had to finish Nakago's job after all."
Tasuki yelled out Mei's name as she slumped against him. The bandit gently laid her down and called out to her once more, his eyes wide with disbelief.
"Tasuki …" she responded weakly.
Tasuki looked up and glared at Suboshi with intense eyes. "You bastard," he said in a deadly whisper. He slowly stood up and took out his tiessen, his face livid with anger.
The blond boy took an involuntary step back as the Suzaku seishi yelled, "You'll pay for this!"
He quickly dodged left as fire streamed pass him. Suboshi looked up to see a screaming Tasuki advancing on him at a fast pace. The younger seishi readied his weapon and lashed out at the redhead. Suboshi grew nervous when his opponent quickly and easily avoided the spinning balls. His eyes widened in shock when he felt the tip of the tiessen brutally cut into his abdomen. He looked up to see a pair of cold amber eyes staring down at him.
"Now you die," Tasuki told him. "Recca Shinen!"
Suboshi screamed as intense heat engulfed him. Tasuki coldly stared at the ashes by his feet before running back to Mei. The seishi cradled the barely conscious girl in his arms.
"Mei, can you hear me? Listen, you got to hold on, 'kay?"
"Tasuki … it hurts," she whispered, her eyes glassy with pain.
"I know it does, Mei, but you got to hang on until we find Mitsukake and …" Tasuki paused to hold back the tears. "Dang it! Why'd I let Mitsukake go on ahead. If he was still here…"
Mei forced her eyes to remain open. "Tasuki … listen, the shinzahos … they're with Taiitsukun. Find the others and tell Chichiri … tell him to take you all to Mt. Taikuoku, so Miaka can…" Mei groaned as pain sweep through her body. "So she can summon Suzaku… I'm sorry I couldn't-"
Tasuki cut her off. "No, don't you freakin' dare say it." He force a smile on his face to lighten the mood. "Come on, you were a goddess once. You have all these powers, you can patch yourself up right now."
Mei tried to laugh with him, but ended up coughing. "You really are a silly boy," she said, her voice barely audible. "That's why I … I love you."
"I love you too, Mei. I'll say it as many times as you want." Tasuki held her tighter and pleaded, "Just don't leave me."
"Tasuki, remember… your promise?" She took one of his hands in hers at his nod. "Promise you'll… come find me… wherever I go."
This time Tasuki let the tears come. "I promise. I'll never leave you. We'll be together again. I love you, for always and forever."
Mei smiled up at the face she loved, then everything went cold and dark.
