Honestly I'm a multi-tier shipper and Tasuki was one of my fave characters from the series, so I wrote a comfort fic
Miaka stood on the balcony of the palace, the night air gently blowing through her hair, her eyes gazing at the stars above her, the constellations of Suzaku. How many times had she stared at the sky back home before, blissfully unaware of her destiny? The girl she used to be, the one who fell asleep in class, had bad grades and dreamed of getting into high school with her best friend? Carefree days of being a teenage girl before it all fell apart. Reflecting on how much her life had changed since then, she was a different girl now. Realising how naive she had been, how much of the world she didn't understand and how complicated it all was. She had been such a fool it was embarrassing. Tamahome finally broke the mind control of the Kodoku that Nakago poisoned him with, her feelings for him breaking through and helping him realise who she was. His memories returning, the guilt of knowing he'd hurt her and yet couldn't remember what he'd done. It took time but Miaka slowly let him back into her heart, when she was ready to confront him. But the heartache he caused still lingered, the memories of what he did to her remained, of how easily he broke her promise when she begged him to stay. How he broke her arm, flirted with Yui, he tried to kill her and Tasuki, he became her enemy. He became Yui's lover, he had become her warrior and forgotten that he promised to never leave her. She had met his family, she had found her warriors alone without him, waiting for him to come back. But all of it was destroyed before her very eyes. It was hard to believe it had only been a few months ago. She'd lost the scroll of Suzaku after Yui revealed herself to Miaka as her enemy, Tamahome bravely returning to Kuto to regain it. The Seiryu warriors knew who the rest of the Suzaku seven were and how to find them, knowing Miaka would be blind to their true identity. Taking advantage of her kindness. Then got tricked when Amiboshi of the Seiryu seven pretended to be Chiriko, ruining her ceremony.
Yui still held a grudge against her, intent on making Miaka as miserable as possible, preventing her from summoning Suzaku. Her best friend who would have supported her in the past, been her greatest ally and never would have allowed a war between their nations, had now become cold. The rift between them grew bigger, the hatred growing stronger with each passing day, becoming her enemy and intent on ruining Miaka's life. Miaka was the priestess of the South, the people of this country relied on her, the emperor believed in her, laying down his life for her. He had confessed his love to her on more than one occasion, wishing to make her his empress. She was supposed to be their saviour and yet she kept messing up at every turn, she had done nothing of importance despite the power she had. She felt like such an idiot, she was embarrassed for everything she had put her warriors through because of her actions. She was the fated host for Suzaku, she was brought into this world for a reason, they had waited years for her to appear. A destined being said to appear from another world, to save their land from destruction, to protect the people who adored her. Using Suzaku's holy power to grant her wishes, before returning to her own world. But Tamahome had sacrificed himself for her as Yui's plaything while she summoned the rest of her warriors, distracting Yui and the rest of the Seiryu warriors as a fake ally before his escape so Miaka could summon Suzaku. Suboshi murdered Tamahome's family in revenge for his brothers death, despite the fact none of them had committed such a crime. Shedding more innocent blood out of anger and spite, traumatising Tamahome. Yui saw her as the enemy and enjoyed her suffering, making sure Miaka felt as empty as she had after her appearance in the book. She nearly got herself killed trying to reclaim the scroll after it was stolen. Nakago had manipulated Yui after her assault, taking advantage of her trauma into believing she was her enemy. Isolating her from the only familiar person in the universe of the four gods. Convincing her that Miaka had never loved or cared about her, betraying her. Feeding her with lies that slowly began to eat away at Yui. Yui kept outsmarting her at every turn, their past bond meant Yui knew her better than anyone, she knew Miaka's weaknesses, her thoughts, her strengths and her feelings. She had an inside look at Miaka and she knew how to predict her choices. Everyone kept putting themselves at risk for her sake, protecting her with their lives as was their duty, despite the guilt that it caused her.
Tamahome became Nakago's puppet much to his joy, using his mind control to impose his will upon him, knowing that Tamahome was too stubborn and too loyal to willingly fall in love with someone else, let alone betray the god he served. Becoming Yui's plaything to ease her loneliness and one sided affection for him. Yui's broken heart being healed by the one person she had loved. But then Miaka had been responsible for plenty of heartache, ones she regretted and wished she could amend. She couldn't return the devoted love that Hotohori felt for her no matter how much she tried, despite his loyalty and kindness. After she had tried to drown herself he remained by her bedside diligently, reaffirming his devotion to her and how much he loved her. Miaka had even considered giving up on Tamahome and falling in love with him. But it wasn't meant to be, she couldn't make herself love him, breaking his heart all over again. Nuriko was like her big brother, he was always watching over her, making her smile when she was sad, he had even given her a statue of herself and Tamahome. Wishing them luck in romance which broke. He had been of great comfort to her through all of this, trying to comfort her. Knowing how hard it had been on her. Why couldn't she be more mature? Why did she lean on everyone else for support when she faced some form of problem? Why was she the crybaby who was obsessed with food and daydreams instead of taking things seriously? She just put herself in more problems until they became overwhelming. This was why she kept losing. Why couldn't she be stronger? She needed to learn how to fight if she was to ever survive. No wonder Seiryu kept beating them, always one step ahead, using underhanded sneaky attacks to defeat them.
Suddenly, she felt a weight on her shoulders snapping her out of her daze, she hadn't even heard anyone approaching. Blinking as she pulled herself back to reality, noticing a familiar dark trench-coat over her shoulders. Tasuki suddenly appearing beside her, wearing his usual white blouse and jewellery "You're gonna get sick if you stand out here barely clothed" he huffed. He'd been out on a late evening walk, he couldn't sleep and needed to think, as he was walking through the grounds he spotted her. Being a bandit he was stealthy on his feet and able to approach without distracting her. He knew Miaka had a lot on her mind, stuff she had been internalising as to not worry anyone, but you could only handle so much until it ate away at you. He had several older sisters who coddled him growing up, but at least he was cared for, they had rubbed off on him growing up so he couldn't help but worry about Miaka. Her school uniform never covered much, it was the same for her casual clothes too, how did she never get sick? What were clothes in her world even like?
Miaka blinked, sensing the lingering warmth from Tasuki's jacket, his body heat clung to the material, it even smelled like him, his cologne and hair oil filled her senses, causing her to blush "Arigato" she mumbled. Tasuki was such a hothead she forgot how sweet he could be, as shown by his loyalty. She wondered what he was doing up so late? Maybe drinking with Chichiri or just bored. Now he was no longer minding his own business but babysitting her, making her feel worse. Keisuke had been looking after her since they were kids, but now that he was in college he couldn't keep such a close eye on her anymore. Now the warriors had taken over and babysat her. Just once she wanted to prove she was responsible.
"Y'know, when I was a kid, after my pops died, before I became a bandit with Kouji. I used ta sit on my family roof, though my sisters would worry endlessly about it. Stargazing would help me think" he admitted. He had been raised by a single mother with a lot of sisters, most were old enough to have jobs. They were much more confident than him and treated him like their baby brother. He was a stupid kid that wanted out and wanted to be treated like an adult, as much as he loved his sisters they could be very intimidating.
Miaka blushed, was she really that obvious? "I suppose I'm hoping Suzaku might give me some answers" she huffed. She hoped he would give her guidance and lead her to make the right choices. She had become so lost as of late and she was confused as to where her path would lead, maybe somehow she would find the answers she was looking for. She had to believe in the beast god, she had a huge responsibility to serve him as his host. But she couldn't help but feel she had been letting him down, she hadn't been performing her duties as well as she could have been.
Tasuki shifted, Miaka had been through a lot, hell more than most for someone her age. Her world was vastly different from theirs, who knows how much this was affecting her. She had left her whole world behind in order to help them and rescue her best friend. He would never forget seeing her tearstained face after Tamahome ripped up the letter he wrote and broke her arm with a nunchaku. Even if it was due to mind control, he had become wary of Tamahome and his anger. Tamahome had broken Miaka's heart on numerous occasion, when she first confessed her love to him, when she went to rescue Yui from Kuto and he was possessed. When she realised Tamahome had forgotten her, that he didn't recognise her. She had been emotionally comatose, locked within her own thoughts, reclusive and became a shadow of herself. He knew Yui and Miaka were childhood friends, just like him and Kouji, he couldn't imagine how much it hurt to have someone you loved and trusted like that turn against you. "Y'know, I heard yer friend Yui, she's been through some hell. But this Nakago guy, he's manipulating her. She's hurtin real bad but she ain't a bad girl" he soothed. True friendships, a real bond like what they had was hard to break, somewhere deep inside Yui still loved Miaka, otherwise she would have killed her already.
Miaka hummed, this was why she was so close to Tasuki, why they got along as well as they did. For all he was hot headed he had a big heart, he understood her feelings, underneath it all Tasuki had a huge heart but harboured awkwardness and bashfulness. He and Kouji had been friends for years, they were like brothers to each other. He understood how she felt, how conflicted and lonely she felt, he didn't demean her feelings and he didn't try to find an alternate to constantly make her feel better. He comforted her and allowed her to process her feelings. He was softer than he let on, despite how much he was teased for it. When Tamahome was brainwashed, when he hurt Miaka under Nakago's orders, he had seen red, he had managed to rival Tamahome's capabilty in martial arts and combat skills. He was even prepared to kill him for what he'd done, for breaking her heart, for endangering Miaka and even attempting to harm her. His whole duty was to protect her from harms way. Fellow warrior or not he would kill for Miaka, he didn't deserve to be forgiven so easily. Though she loved Tamahome dearly, she still had trouble trusting him after what he had done, that he lied to her, that he went to Kuto in secret and abandoned her when she begged him not to go. How she had passed his room so many times and found it to be empty, the memories of their bond lingered in her mind. Living without him, haunted by the memories had been too hard to cope. She had nearly killed herself after their fight in Kuto during his mind control, her heart shattered to pieces, trying to drown herself in the palace lake. Yui was the only part of home she had left, memories of her world before she became priestess, of happier times. When their only issue had been getting into high school and passing exams. Keisuke was back home reading her adventures in the book, their mother was divorced and intent on controlling her life and choices. The pressure of being the priestess, the accumulated trauma she had faced while here, it was too much. No matter her achievements, her grades and the choices of high school she had, it would never be enough for her.
She blamed herself for everything, losing the scroll, all of the messes they found themselves in. She sighed, "I just... Yui and I...we've been friends as long as you and Kouji, I know her better than anyone. I trust her more than anyone, we even talked about getting into the same high school. I knew she liked Tamahome too, but all of these actions, it feels like Nakago, not Yui. But... she's so lost" Miaka mumbled. Yui was her best friend, someone she trusted and confided in. They had known each other since they were in nursery, they had grown up together. They had never been apart, they had never fought and they had never had reason to distrust the other. Imagining her life without Yui broke her heart. They had planned a future together, they had planned their lives around each other, they were always inseparable. Now it had all gone so wrong, it all changed so fast and she wanted it to go back to how it used to be.
Tasuki softened, sometimes Miaka's self awareness scared even him, as immature and gullible as she could be, she was surprisingly insightful and courageous. He reached out to ruffle her head affectionately. "Many of us know what it's like ta grow up poor, the desperation, the resentment; Yui was thrown from a normal life into a an unfamiliar world of gods. She was scared, alone and desperate, she didn't get the luck you did. She was taken advantage of in the slums and nobody could hear her. You could have never known it would happen. Then Nakago broke her, while there was a war going on inside of her blinded by grief" he pressed. When you grew up poor, making money, finding food and other necessary needs didn't come easy, you needed to eat and getting money wasn't always pretty. He'd been born to a poor family but he was loved, after becoming a bandit he was able to make money and send it home to support his family. He had managed to obtain good clothes and more from becoming a bandit, though he had a good heart, sometimes you had to make difficult choices. Miaka and Yui had been raised privileged, neither of them had known what it was like to grow up in the poverty many of their warriors had. Yui had faced the worst of Kuto on her first day, she had been lost and fell into trouble, traumatising her. Nakago had lied to her and woven her trauma into a weapon. Tasuki smiled "Yer a good girl Miaka, kind, courageous and loyal. Yui's lucky to have ya, we all are. You haven't given up on her, yer a good friend, that's why Nakago see's you as a threat" he smiled. Miaka had never given up on Yui, after everything she was intent on saving her and bringing her home. She didn't hate her and she didn't hold any resentment towards her, she just wanted her best friend back.
Miaka softened, Tasuki really was a kind person, he had more passion from Suzaku than any other, she hoped someone was able to love him someday as much as he loved his friends. He wore his heart on his sleeve, he never backed down from a fight and he always protected his loved ones. Despite knowing her for a short time, when they were searching for warriors and she got sick, he was determined to heal her. He abandoned his home to serve by her side, he stood by her through it all. Any woman whom became the object of his affection would be lucky. She couldn't help but feel her heart flutter a little, seeing him a blushing mess, avoiding eye contact and stumbling over his words, acting like an awkward teenage boy. She reached out to squeeze his hand gratefully "Thanks Tasuki" she hummed.
Tasuki's face flushed, matching his flaming red hair, he had never had much experience with girls, nor had he ever known a relationship. The gentleness of Miaka's gaze, the intense fondness she exuded, it was hard not to fall in love. Miaka wasn't like any girl from this world, constantly full of surprises "Having sisters, you have a better perspective of how girls feel" he babbled.
Miaka nuzzled his coat fondly, it still smelled like him "It's warm" she reflected, suddenly the cold no longer bothered her. Part of her didn't want to give it back, acting as a shield for her and comforting her. All of her worries and anxiety began to fade away, as if they never existed to begin with. Perhaps Tasuki had cast a spell on her using a talisman or he just made her feel safe. Tasuki felt his face darken, almost dizzy from the shock, he never expected this to happen but he was glad it did. Miaka had become very special to him, an integral part of his life. She wasn't anything how he imagined the priestess to be and yet he didn't care, because he had accepted her as she was. He wouldn't admit he liked seeing Miaka in his clothes, how cute she was, Suzaku help him.
