Disclaimer: *sigh* I wish I owned Fushigi Yuugi, because that would mean I could have more money to blow on DVD's and manga……

          *Hey guys, just a quick recommendation; if you are OBSESSED with Fushigi Yuugi (like me), then I highly suggest Alice the 19th by the one and only Yuu Watase.  A very good read! Kodocha by Miho Obana is too……. Aw, to hell with it, everybody pool in their cash so we could buy out Suncoast, Waldenbooks, and Sam Goody/FYE! I've got dibs on all the Tasuki merchandise! :D*

You Want Some Nuriko With That?

"London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling dooooooooooown, I am dying under here, my fair lady," cheerfully sang the trapped Miaka. 

          Here's what happened:

          "AIEEEEEEEEEee!" screamed Miaka as the rubble fell around her, pinning and, eventually, sealing her off from the outside world. 

          "………you're not going to pay me now, are you?" Tamahome sulked to Hotohori.  Hotohori sweatdropped.

Back to now:

          "…….so you're saying if I HAD rescued her, I would have been paid," Tamahome clarified.

          "YES, for the last hundredth time, you WOULD have been paid!" Hotohori sighed and muttered," Great, now we're going to have to either fight Kutou unarmed or kidnap their priestess……" He pictured himself in a black cape, black half-mask, spiffy tuxedo, and a top hat dashing away with Yui over his shoulder.

          "Aw what the hell no!" He yelled, shaking his head in a vain attempt to get the disturbing image out of his head.

          Hotohori wasn't the only one with a dilemma; Tamahome was also engaged in an internal debate.  Now, you have to understand, money is everything for the kid; as Miaka is more 2 + 2 = Gimme-all-your-food-and-nobody-gets-hurt, Tamahome is 2 + 2 = Hey-I-found-a-dollar-so-who-cares-what-2+2-is? (A/N: By the way, Hotohori is 2+2 = Oh-hey-look-there's-a-mirror!) So, to him, the situation was pretty simple;

          Point A: Hotohori was offering to pay him to save Miaka.

Point B: Miaka was trapped under hundreds of pounds of rubble.

Point C: Duh HELLO, MONEY!

And so, ever gallant and true, Tamahome dived into the rubble and started squirming through the cracks to reach Miaka.

          Hotohori looked up from his literal brain-wash in time to see Tamahome practically skip into the rubble.

          "&*(^*^)(*&(#$%^&*()$%^&*())&^%$##$^^&*(_&$#@F%^&!" He shouted. 

          *Somewhere Tasuki was, Tasuki applauded Hotohori's language skills.*

          Hotohori whirled his head to face the guards, but his hair whipped into his face giving him whiplash.  Tenderly brushing his hair away from his visage, he then barked to the remaining men," We must remove these stones at once!  Our priestess and celestial warrior are trapped under there!"

          The guards moved to obey but halted when a random passing maid called," Oh boys! The Go tournament is starting on the other side of the palace and if you want to get good seats, you should get going!"  And so, as old men are attracted to boring old things like themselves, they stormed off in a stampede of walkers.

          "……….note to self; fire that maid," Hotohori told himself. 

          "Stand back your majesty and let me handle this," said a beautiful purple-haired lady that had appeared from the shadows.

          "AHHHH!" shrieked Hotohori.  Panting he pointed his finger at her and yelled," You should be more considerate of someone as beautiful as we are!  You could have scared a wrinkle onto this testimony to perfection!" 

          The woman winked at him and said," Don't worry, I'll save your beloved seishi………oh yeah, and that girl too."  And with that, she sauntered over to the wrecked pavilion.

*********UNDER THE RUBBLE****************

          Tamahome had somehow wiggled his way to the core of the rocks where Miaka had been trapped and had finally realized his predicament.

          "……I'm trapped under hundreds of pounds of rocks with no hope of escape and am in the company of a girl in desperate need of a make-over.  SHIT!  Dad always warned me that this would happen someday!"

          Miaka indignantly yelled," HEY, this is AFTER the make-over!"  Tamahome sweatdropped.  Sympathetically smiling she held up a box of pocky and asked," Want some?"

          Tamahome shrugged and said," Sure."  As he reached to take the Strawberry sticks of yummyness, Miaka suddenly growled and bit his hand.

          "OWWWWWWWWWWW! WHAT'D YOU DO THAT FOR YOU BAKA?!?!?!" Tamahome screeched as he nursed the same hand that he had nearly broken earlier by cracking his knuckles.

          In a gruff voice Miaka gave him evil eyes and said," Food is mine.  ALL food belongs to ME, understand? I have WAYS to punish those that go against me."  Tamahome shivered in fear, but for the first (and probably last) time in this story, a miracle occurred for him: the boulders trapping them were miraculously disappearing as the purple-haired woman tossed them aside like they were cottonballs.  As Miaka and Tamahome climbed out, Hotohori rushed over and happily exclaimed," Thank Suzaku! Both of you are unharmed! We were more worried than we have ever been!"  He turned to the woman and asked," But that power you demonstrated……are you a celestial warrior?"

          The woman nodded, lowering her shirt a bit so that they could see her mark but Tamahome hurriedly placed his hand over it so none of the light showed through.

          "Our priestess is prone to seizures so we can't show her any of our symbols," he apologetically explained.  *SLAP*  Tamahome nursed his injured cheek as the woman glowered over him and snarled," I, Nuriko, will NOT be fondled by such an un-beautiful person such as YOU!"

          Hotohori cheered," You go girl!" The vain duo high-fived.   Miaka chose that moment to go up Nuriko and say," Thank you very much for saving me."

          Nuriko walked past her to the whimpering Tamahome and said," I didn't do it for you……..I did it for him." and kissed him straight on the lips.

          Miaka stood frozen, unable to do anything but stare in shock.  Hotohori had no such dilemma, however.

          "DO YOU KNOW WHERE THOSE LIPS HAVE BEEN?!?!?!  HE'S KISSED MIAKA FOR GOD'S SAKE!"  Hearing this, Nuriko pried herself off of Tamahome and started spitting and rubbing her lips. 

          "So THAT was what that horrible taste was!"

 Noting Miaka's jealous aura, Nuriko internally shrugged and thought, It's all for a good cause, so just grin and bear it.  With that, she re-aquainted herself with Tamahome's face. 

          "NURIKOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

************

           Hey guys, hope you liked the chapter!  But I need your help for the next chapter: can you guys pick one Suzaku or Seiryu seishi that you would like to have a random appearance?  As for what his/her role is……..hehehehehe, you'll see.  So far, I've been hearing lots of Chichiri requests so if nobody tells me squat, I'll just use him.  Alrightie, until next chapter, ja ne!