Disclaimer: No, I do NOT own Fushigi Yuugi or anyone that comes with it. And this is the last time I'm writing this, I hate disclaimers…. . I should own FY! Me!!!! You hear that? Me!!

*Men in white lab coats come in and drag a kicking Juufan away*

Small note: This fanfic was written in Tomite's POV when he was talking to Hikitsu when they were holed up in Mount Black and thinking about his life before and when he was a seishi. Since I'm not knowledgable about the Genbu shichiseishi by the very least, you'll just have to excuse me for weird things that pop up in my fic…. ^_^ Oh, and by the way, this fic was inspired by repeated playing of the 'Star' from the OVAs and Scarlet from Ayashi no Ceres.


I watched as Hikitsu sat down on the chilly, icy soil in a cross-legged position, gazing straight at me. It looked as if we were forced to stay in this cave for…100 years? 200 years? I wasn't sure; all I knew was that our duty was to protect our miko's Shinzaho from the hands of any greedy robbers. Still, we were holed up in this dark cave, having nothing to do except wait until the flesh on our bones froze to ice.

Hikitsu didn't seem to mind; it seemed weird to me at first. After all, he did have a family, unlike me, an orphan who just managed to survive by supporting myself and stealing from others. I guess he's got a better grip on being a seishi better than me. After all, he was the more responsible one of us both, as to quote our miko, "The worrywart seishi who worries over everything."

"You aren't complaining about being left on Mount Black, are you, Tomite?"

I jumped slightly at the sound of his way before realizing that I had long gone on my own train of thought. Snorting, I tried to hide under my exterior, trying to shake it off as if sitting in this dingy, icy cave was something I did everyday.

"Me, complaining? I've got nothing to complain about," I replied as nonchalantly as I could, managing to avoid the other seishi's piercing stare. It was true; I had nothing and no one to lose when I left my normal life for my duties as a Genbu seishi. Still, I couldn't help feeling a tad lonely as I reflected upon my life before the miko descended, or as I prefer to say, me past life.

Hikitsu was looking at me with a sort of an amused look on his face, (Hikitsu amused? That had to be the first time I'd seen such an expression on his face) and he rested his face on the palm of his right hand, his arm balancing itself on his knee as he raised an eyebrow.

"Funny you should say that, Tomite. You don't seem to be taking it that easily, apparently," he remarked, and I frowned. What was that supposed to mean? And to think that he should be the one complaining about how long we were going to be cooped up here.

I sighed, looking up at the dark roof of the cave, wondering just how I managed to end up here. From being a small kid that had to learn to fend for himself, I became Tomite, one of the famed Genbu shichiseishi in all of Hokkan. I snorted to myself. What a paradox. Once a measly brat, now the one of the most famous people in my land. Of course, that didn't actually mean that I enjoyed my every waking moment as a seishi, though.

They say that once your destiny comes, you must greet it with open arms. Until now, I have truly doubt the truth of that statement, for I understand the pains of having to follow the path that life has predetermined for us to follow. You can never change your fate, no matter how much you want; you just have to follow through.

I lived a normal life for fifteen years, thank Genbu. Nothing was ever different those days, and I usually thought that routine work was boring, but soon enough, I learnt that sometimes, a boring routine is much better than the surprises that life hid from your knowledge.

Before the legendary Genbu no miko descended, I was a hunter living in a small village in the outskirts of Hokkan. Life was hard those days, I admit, but looking back, I'd have to say that the life then was much better then. Of course, a life as a seishi had its ups and downs too…