Disclaimer: I don't own the original FY characters; I own Kei, Taki, Lily, Jason, their kids and any other person who isn't a FY character.
Thoughts
Memories
Summary: The book was supposed to be sealed forever, never to trouble the real world again. But when the child of a seishi and descendant of a miko finds it 20 years later, there's no telling what could happen. When 17-year-old Akane finds the book, she understands what her parents tried to teach her through out her life. When she meets the son of her father's best friend, old ideals clash with modern thinking and sparks will fly. She and her cousins will learn about their parents' past and why they had hoped to leave it behind.
~*~Review Response~*~
~Jamie - Hey again! I'm glad you still like how Kimiko is shaping up. I'd hate for you to hate her. I think Kanako is more misguided than psycho, more of her motives will be revealed later and lots of conflict will ensue. Fun. I also figured I should get Akane and Kano together faster 'cause I felt bad since it took me 25 chapters and around 8+ months to get Tasuki and Kei together. Enjoy!
~Cortney - Ah warm weather, what I wouldn't give for it. Phoenix sounds inviting, but I think I'd miss the Midwest too much. I don't even want to leave for college, I'd rather stay close. The brainwashing? Well, it will be similar to what Nakago did to Tamahome, but it will play out very differently.
~Sweet Briar - Found my sequel, did you? Glad to see another returning reader. Please come out of the corner. I don't bite. Akane may be a little too perfect now, I see where you're coming from, but don't worry. Her faults have yet to come out. She will have a couple of major ones. I just haven't presented the opportunity for her to screw up.
~Stacey-chan - Hi! This story will most definitely stay updated. I hate to leave anything unfinished and I know everyone would get mad if I left it hanging.
~Youkai_yo! - Hmm, new reader? Did you get a chance to read the first part? I just wanna make sure you know what's going on.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Hiroshi slowly opened his eyes and found himself staring at a wooden ceiling. 'What the? Where am I? Oh yeah…damn…I wasn't dreaming…' He turned to the side and saw Toru climbing down from bunk and Toshiro was still sleeping. Kano was already dressed and walking out the door. His conversation with Kano from last night floated to the surface of his mind. 'A prince? Me? How retarded is that? I can't be a leader of a country…maybe I just won't tell anyone…Kano's probably the only one who's figured it out…maybe it can just stay a secret…' He climbed down and stood on the floor.
Toru watched Hiroshi stare at himself in a mirror. He looked a little pale. "Hiroshi, what's wrong? You don't look so good…"
"I…I'm fine…I think it's just a little after shock from coming here…" He began to comb out his long hair.
"Funny, I feel fine."
"I'm not as strong as you are." Hiroshi replied frankly.
"Um…" Toru didn't know how to respond. "Okay…" He walked back to the bed to wake up Toshiro.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Naoko climbed out of bed. Nyoko sat in her pajamas next to her. Kimiko and Akane were out of the room. "Nyoko?"
"Huh?"
"Are we gonna get stupid when we get older?"
"What do you mean?"
"Look at everyone here older than over here. Kimiko and Hiroshi and Akane and Kano are acting like idiots. It's so painfully obvious they like each other, so why don't they do anything?"
"Well, that's a good question…" The two young girls sat in silence. "You know what I think?"
"What?"
"Liking someone makes you do dumb things. Look at Hiroshi. He's done a lot of dumb things around Kimiko and he probably thinks she thinks he's an idiot."
"But she wouldn't hang around him if she thought he was stupid…"
"True…but he probably doesn't understand that…"
"That's a good point."
"You know, I really hope we don't get like this when we're older."
"I think it's unavoidable."
"Damn."
"Nyoko! You swore!"
"So? Everyone does it once in a while. Even me."
"But you never do!"
"Oh shut up…no one's watching." Nyoko tied up her hair up. "Let's go. We have a long day ahead."
Naoko stared at her sister. Normally Nyoko was the calmer of the two, the well-behaved one, but here she wasn't. "Um…okay. Let's go then." Naoko put on a headband and followed her sister out.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Akane stared at her self in a mirror. She wore jeans and a white shirt with her father's coat. Kimiko sat in a chair nearby.
"What are you doing? You've been staring at yourself for like 15 minutes. You really aren't the type to be so self-conscious."
"I dunno…I guess I'm trying to figure out who I am…" She took the coat off.
"What are you talking about?"
"I dunno…never mind."
"Come on, what's wrong?"
"I was thinking…my dad came from here so part of me is from here to…so what does that make me? Do I belong here? Or back in our world? Or nowhere?"
"Well, were do you wanna be? I think that's what's important…"
"Maybe…" She put the coat back on.
"Don't think so much. It makes your head hurt." Kimiko smiled. "I'm gonna go find Hiroshi, kay?"
"Yeah. Sure." Akane managed a small smile. She wondered when Hiroshi would tell her he liked her. She turned back to the mirror and sighed. Was she a bandit child or just an ordinary real world girl?
Kano walked passed the room and looked in. "Akane, what are you doing?"
"Thinking…"
He sighed. "You know, half the time when I ask you what you're doing, you say nothing. The other half you say thinking. Do you ever do anything else?"
"Eh…I dunno…"
He shook his head. "You have no self confidence or something…"
"Whatever…" She pulled her hair back into a ponytail and secured it into a bun. "It's not important…"
He frowned. "Akane…"
"What?"
He stood behind her. "Tell me what's wrong."
"I said it isn't important. I was just thinking."
"If you were just thinking, you wouldn't be avoiding the subject. Just thinking is like where you wonder what's for dinner." He wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "This is more that just thinking, isn't it?"
"Curse you and your infernal logic, Kano…"
He smiled. "Yeah, yeah…now come on. Getting to the capital is like the first step in getting you back home. Shouldn't you be a little happier than this?"
"Well…it's just…I was thinking about where I belong…were we all belong."
"You mean you and your cousins?"
"Yeah…I mean…my dad's from here, Hiroshi's dad is, Toru and Toshiro's dad is and Nyoko and Naoko's mom is. What does that make us?"
"I guess I really don't have an answer to that…"
"I didn't expect you to really…" She leaned back into his arms.
Kano felt his face burn. "We should get down to the gates. Dad's waiting with the horses."
"Is he coming with?"
"Till we get to the capital. He'll make up his mind about whether or not to stay once he finds out what the royals will do."
"Okay…" Akane turned to face Kano. "Um…Kano?"
"Huh?"
She looked up at him. "What's going on between us? Is it anything?"
"Between us? What are you talking about?" He knew exactly what she was talking about.
"Us…is there an us? We've kissed twice already and haven't said anything about it…what the hell is going on?"
He scratched his head. "I dunno…do you want there to be an us?"
"I'm really not sure but…" She lowered her head.
"But?"
"I…I…I wanna know if those kisses were empty or if there was something there…tell me the truth. I'll accept whatever you say…" She couldn't bring herself to look at him.
He was quiet for a moment. She looked so timid now, certainly not the girl tackled him and pulled him into the water. She was scared of what his answer may be. "I…I don't know what was there, but I know they weren't empty…" He swallowed the lump rising in his throat.
She raised her eyes to meet his. "Really?" That was all she wanted to hear. She wasn't completely sure of her feelings for him either, but she needed to know if there was even a remote need for her to figure out how she felt about him.
"Really…" The blue-haired bandit reached out to stroke her jet-black hair.
She smiled and blushed. "I guess that's what I really wanted to know."
He looked down at her. "I…uh…I think we need to get down to the gates now…"
"Right…yeah…" Regretfully, she followed him down to the front gates. She didn't really want to leave to stronghold but Kano would stay with her so it wasn't so bad.
The horses were saddled up and the others were already outside. Only Kouji took notice of the faint blush on both their faces. He said nothing as he helped Nyoko and Naoko onto the large horses. Akane pulled herself up onto a black mare. Kano mounted the same horse he shared with her coming up the mountain. It was a beautiful coffee color with a white diamond on its forehead.
Soon everyone was ready to leave. Kouji was leading the riders down the mountain.
After riding for an entire day, they made camp in a sheltered clearing near a river. At Kouji's orders Toru and Toshiro went to gather firewood.
They wandered about in the woods, not far from the others. Toru picked up some lager pieces. "Toshiro?"
"Huh?"
"You still don't believe we're here, do you? I can still see that skepticism in your eyes."
"This goes against everything I've ever learned to be true. Ancient worlds don't exist in books! This shouldn't be possible! It doesn't make sense!" He muttered angrily.
Toru shook his head. "Why does everything have to make sense with you? Why can't you accept that some things can't be explained?"
"Because everything has some type of explanation!"
"You know, I'm not as smart as you, I can hardly explain why a light bulb goes on, I know, but would you like my opinion anyway?"
"Sure…why not?"
"The explanation is that there is no explanation. There are many other laws in any world besides physical ones. We don't know what they are, we can't explain them, so we just have to accept them." Toru hoisted a bundle of wood over his shoulder.
Toshiro stared at his brother for a moment. "…I think that was the smartest thing you've ever said…"
He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that's flattering…let's go back to camp."
Toshiro picked up another bundle of wood. "Sure."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Later that night, Kouji was up keeping watch. Something had bothered him since he first saw Akane. She had seemed so familiar and it wasn't just because of her mother. He was sure he'd seen her somewhere before. "Jeez…I must be getting old…" He shook his head.
Kano came out of the guys' tent. "Dad, I can take over if you want."
He looked up at his son and stood up. "That sounds good. Kano?"
"Yeah, Dad?"
"You should tell her."
"I can't…" Kano didn't need to be told who 'her' was.
"Why? Why do you want to put yourself through the pain?"
"I don't want to, but I have to. Even if I want it, she and I don't belong together. There's no way she'd live here the rest of her life and I can't go to her world. It'd be even more painful if I told her…" Kano sat down where his father had been.
Kouji hated seeing his son in pain. "Kano…there are ways. Somehow, every time a person from the miko's world comes someone falls in love and they always stay together."
"Every time that happens, it's a miko or a seishi or something! Akane's not a miko! I'm not a seishi! I fell for a girl I can't have!" Kano's eyes burned with tears.
Kouji didn't know what to say. Kano was right. If you did go by history, he and Akane didn't fit the pattern. The older bandit sighed. "Don't stay up too long. The other guys can take watch too."
"Sure…I'll remember…" Kano watched his father disappear into the tent. He let out a long sigh. 'I'm an idiot, a complete and total idiot. Why couldn't I have been like every other bandit and not thought anything of her? Why'd I have to care? I've never cared before, so why is it when she comes I care? I am an idiot.' He cursed himself out loud.
"You shouldn't say bad things about yourself." Akane was standing in the door of the tent.
"Akane…I didn't wake you up, did I?"
"I heard a little yelling, but that was after I woke up. The bugs, the owls, the wolves, it's too much noise. I can't sleep. Can I stay up with you?"
"Sure…" He mentally kicked himself. 'No, you fool! You're letting her get close again! It can't work, you brainless wonder! Don't hurt her or yourself anymore!'
She knelt next to him. "What were you yelling about before?"
"Nothing…"
"Okay…" Akane watched him carefully. His eyes almost glowed in the dark. 'Wow, he's cute…' She was tempted to reach out and touch his hair, but she stopped herself.
Kano pulled on of his knives out of its sheath and began sharpening it to occupy himself in their awkward silence. After a few moments he spoke. "Akane?"
"Yeah?"
"What's your world like? I've always been curious." He watched her in the dark reflection of the blade.
"My world? Well, hmm…where to start?" She thought for a moment. "Well, it's crazy. I mean, here everyone speaks the same language. You can go anywhere and be able to communicate. In my world, you cross a border into a new country and chances are you can't understand them. Someone always has a problem with someone else." She shook her head. "Some cities never sleep. People are always working. You start to wonder when and if they sleep…"
"Sounds weird."
"It is. Kids are always in school. So much work to do…everyone worries about what high schools and universities they'll get to go to…"
"Do you?"
"I try not to. It puts too much stress on your mind." She looked up at the stars. "It's kinda relaxing being here…"
"Here? Relaxing? You must be joking." He chuckled.
"No, I'm serious!" She huffed. "Things are tough here, but it's random. Everyone plans their lives, to the best of their ability anyway, but here you just live day to day. It's a nice change of pace."
"I'm not sure I see your logic, but okay…" He sheathed the knife and looked up at the stars.
"How many do you think there are?"
"Of what?"
"The stars. How many?" She turned her gaze from the stares to him.
He looked down at her. "A few hundred billion maybe. Never thought about it."
"Sounds good." She looked up again. "Ya know what's funny?"
"Huh?"
"If someone tells you there are billions of stars in the sky, you'll believe it, no questions. But when someone tells you there's wet ink on a piece of paper, you have to touch it and see. Then you get ink all over your hand and you get annoyed."
He smiled. "You talk as if you've had experience."
"Maybe…maybe not…" She smiled back.
Kano shook his head and laughed. Akane soon found herself laughing with him. After a while, neither knew who had laughed first or why they were laughing in the first place.
Nyoko and Naoko watched from the tent flap. They looked at each other and scoffed. "Love, who needs it?" They both muttered and left the laughing couple to their business.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Reizo listened to his spies as they told him of the location of the small group. He drummed his fingers on the armrest of the chair. Once the cloaked soldiers finished, Reizo stood up. "You have done your job, now get out."
The two men ran from the room. Reizo had not been pleased with their news and preferred not to be around when his anger set in. The soldiers all gave the Lady Kanako a great amount of respect for being able to stand with their Lord Reizo when he was angry.
Kanako studied her oldest son. "Reizo, you will kill yourself before you get to kill the girl if you do not learn to control your anger…"
"I am in control of my anger, Mother. I do not need you to tell me what I should do…"
"Reizo, you are, by no means, in control. At this rate, you would kill the girl upon seeing her. That is not the plan. It will be easier to turn Kano if the girl is still alive."
"How so?" Reizo didn't see his mother's logic.
"Two reasons: He will guard himself well against us if the girl is dead. If she is dead, he will only seek revenge. Also, you may be able to use her as leverage. Tell Kano you will kill her if he does not work with you. Kill her later after Kano if firmly with us."
"You speak of the girl as if she is just a thing."
"She is. I only want my son back. I care little for what you do with her."
Reizo examined his mother and for a moment considered her true objectives in this mission. "Very well, Mother. As you wish." He left his mother and headed down to the gates of the palace where he had a number of soldiers waiting for him.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Akane's POV
Why was the ride to the capital so damn short? I don't wanna go…
Kano's been keeping his distance from me, or trying to anyway…maybe he doesn't have feelings for me…maybe he lied to me before…but then again…I did tell him I'd accept what he said…he wouldn't lie to me would he?
I can just see the walls of the capital. It won't be much longer now. I'm on my way home…back where I belong? Maybe…
Kimiko was trying to hold my attention, but I kept thinking about Kano. Kimiko wanted me to pay attention to anything but him. She knows I like him and I guess she's trying to help me, but it's not working. When I get home, I'm gonna be miserable. I won't have Kano to fight with, to talk with, to be with…
I felt my eyes tear. I though at first it was 'cause I was upset. Then I saw the others choking. Something smelled strange.
I heard a whizzing in the air and saw an arrow land in front of me. There was something on the end. A yellow smoke was rising from it. The reality of the situation hit me. Whoever was after me was here.
I saw the twins fall from their horses. All four of them were already unconscious. The sound of the others coughing rang in my ears. I didn't see Kano either. Maybe my vision was too blurry, but I didn't see his blue hair and that's hard to miss.
Not being able to keep my balance, I fell to the ground. I staggered to my feet. Kimiko, Hiroshi and Kouji were unconscious too.
I could faintly see a figure standing before me. How could anyone stay standing in this smoke? The person roughly grabbed me and pulled me up. He was tall, around Kano's height or taller and strange gray blue eyes. No one has eyes like that do they? It must be my vision.
"What did you do to Kano?" I choked out. I could barely breath now.
"You'll see him soon enough." The deep voice hissed at me.
It was the last thing I heard before the smoke finally made me black out. I did feel myself hit the ground first though. Where is this guy gonna take me? Or will he just kill me before I ever wake up?
My mind was screaming for Kano, not that it would help…he was probably unconscious too, maybe even dead…
I figure I don't have long to live…
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Kano and Akane are in trouble now…
How can they get out of this?
Why is Kouji sure he's seen Akane before?
Review please!
~*~Shadow Hawk~*~
3/23/03