*First of all, I want to thank everyone who has reviewed for me so far.
They would include Bunny, Amyfushigiyugi, adfs, etc.
~Hey Leda, only three people have reviewed so far, remember?~
Oh. Well, anyways, this is Amefuri. *points to the blue-haired seishi next to her.* He's been helping me edit. ^^ His talking's going to be in the "~" symbols. But anyways, I've submitted this fic to Faniac. Really hope they'll accept it!
~I hope she didn't get any names wrong. Just the kind of thing she would do..-_- ~
Amefuri, you're not being fair! I haven't seen the anime, only the manga! *punches Amefuri into the sky, then turns around.* But anyways, this chapter starts with Miaka and Tamahome and ends with Tasuki. And for my Taiitsukun fic, I think my writer's block is almost gone! :D
Chapter Two
Miaka stopped crying and looked at Tamahome. "Tamahome, how are we going to tell the others?"
"Miaka!" she heard Tasuki cry. "Wha' happened?"
Miaka turned and saw Tasuki, Mitsukake, Chichiri, and Chiriko running up to them. She buried her face in her hand and cried.
Tamahome answered for her, pointing to Ashitare's limp body. "Nuriko killed Ashitare, but he died, too. Ashitare's claws, they, they pierced Nuriko's body!"
"No," Tasuki whispered. "No! That's impossible! Nuriko's stronger than tha'!" he knelt next to his friend's body and shook him. "Nuriko, wake up! Nuriko!"
Miaka struggled not to cry, but tears slipped out anyways. Tamahome pulled her close to him and hugged her. Chichiri hugged Chiriko close to him, trying to comfort him. Mitsukake fell to his knees and slammed his palms on the snow. "Why? Why does this always happen to me? Why do I always come too late?" He took a deep breath and tried not to cry. Tears splashed onto the snow and his body shook.
Tasuki continued shouting at Nuriko. "Nuriko, you hafta wake up! Yer makin' everyone cry!" He brushed his tears away. "Nuriko!" he screamed.
*****
The violet-haired Warrior of Suzaku hesitated. "Suzaku, my friends are calling to me. They don't want me to leave. What am I going to do? I have to do something!"
"Go into my palace. You are the first to die, but not the last. Nuriko, you are already dead and cannot do anything. Accept that."
"But-"
"Go." He pointed at the door. Nuriko sighed and stepped through it. There was nothing he could do now. He was but a spirit in his world. Kourin jumped after him.
"Ryuuen, don't worry. Nothing bad's going to happen to them!"
He smiled sadly at her. "I know, but I can't help worrying, you know? Miaka and the others, they don't understand just how powerful the Seiryuu Seven are. And they're worried about me. I must find a way to ease their souls!"
Suzaku appeared next to him. "They just need some time to grieve, but they'll be all right. They are, after all, my seishi. I chose each of them for specific reasons."
"What was mine?"
"You were Miaka's mentor. And you taught her much about love. Like how you don't have to be different genders to love each other deeply." He paused for a moment. "You may stay here in my palace until the time arises for you to return home."
"I'm going to go back soon?" Nuriko eagerly asked.
"Yes, but not now. Rest, my seishi. My seishi who returned to me first, rest."
Kourin tugged on Nuriko's arm. "C'mon, Ryuuen, I'll show you your room! It's right next to mine!"
Nuriko smiled. "All right, Kourin. And after that, we're going to have a nice talk. There are some things I need to tell you so you can catch up with the present."
Kourin clapped her hands and grinned. "Yay!"
*****
Tasuki wiped his tears away. Nuriko wasn't going to wake up ever again. He wanted to scream. How could this have happened? Why hadn't he gone with Nuriko? Why? If he had, maybe he wouldn't have died. Fate was cruel to him. The people closest to him always died. First his master, now Nuriko. And for Nuriko's death to be so gruesome just made it more painful.
"Tasuki, what are we going to do now?" Chiriko timidly asked.
Tasuki raised his head and looked at the little kid. Here was someone he would be able to protect. He was only thirteen and inexperienced in the world, unlike him. This was probably the first death Chiriko had ever had to face. He smiled briefly. "We'll bury Nuriko right now."
Mitsukake crouched next to Tasuki. "Here. Let me do this." He held his right hand over Nuriko's body and green bubbles floated into him. The wounds over his body quickly healed and vanished.
Tasuki watched Mitsukake do all this. Suddenly, something stirred inside him. Mitsukake, damn him, why was he doing this now? "Mitsukake, why did you wait so long?! Yer just damn useless! Wha' have ya done that's ever helped us before?" He grabbed Mitsukake's shoulders and screamed at him. "Damn you! I hate you! You're never where you hafta be! Ya let yer own fiancée die! And now ya heal Nuriko after he dies! Why not before?!" He reached for his tessen. "I'm gonna kill ya now! Ya just let Nuriko die! Rekka Shin'nen!"
Chichiri slammed his staff on the ground in front of Mitsukake and managed to project a shield just in time. He ripped off his mask. "Tasuki, what the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Let me at him! He doesn't deserve to live! Rekka Shin'nen!" Flames shot out of his tessen again. Luckily, Chichiri's shield was still up and the flames passed harmlessly over the two of them.
Tamahome grabbed Tasuki's shoulders. "Tasuki, stop it! Calm down! It's not Mitsukake's fault!"
"Yes it is! He's never around when he's really needed! Nuriko dyin's all his fault!"
Mitsukake continued staring at the ground. Tamaneko jumped down from Mitsukake's shoulder and licked his hand. Tasuki grew more and more enraged as the healer didn't say anything to his defense.
"Jus' watch him! He's not even sayin' a thing! He doesn't care 'bout Nuriko!" Tasuki yelled. "He deserves ta die!" With each word, his rage grew more and more until he saw red. Suddenly, all he wanted to do was kill that worthless piece of trash. And no one would be able to stop him. He jerked himself free of Tamahome's grasp and stormed forward. "Chichiri, let down that shield," he ordered.
Chichiri stared calmly into his friend's furious face, which had transformed beyond recognition. "No. Not until you calm down."
"I WON' CALM DOWN TIL L YA LET ME AT 'IM!!!!!!" Tasuki screamed. His tessen began spitting out randomly, creating steam as they hit the snow.
Miaka grabbed his sleeve. "Tasuki, please stop!" she cried. "It's not Mitsukake's fault! No one could have saved Nuriko! He was already d-dead before all you showed up." She choked. "Please don't blame anyone. It wasn't anyone's fault."
Tasuki's vision cleared as he watched Miaka's tears slip into the snow and vanish. His rage began to dissipate. "N-Nuriko," he managed to choke out and he fell to his knees. He slammed his palms into the wet snow. He began weeping angrily. The other Constellations looked at each other, not knowing what to do. Chichiri looked back at Mitsukake and was surprised to notice tears streaming down his face.
"Tasuki's right, I am useless. Everything he said was right. I wasn't able to help Nuriko."
Chichiri turned to face Mitsukake. "You're not worthless. You saved Tamahome's life back when he was under the control of the kodoku."
Mitsukake bowed his head. "But other than that, what else have I done?"
"Damn right! I'd like ter know, too!" Tasuki bellowed. He stood up and thrust his tessen at Mitsukake. "You shoulda been the one who died! Not Nuriko!" The rest of what he was going to say caught in his throat. Miaka and the others watched Tasuki, afraid of what he would do next.
Chiriko hesitated for a moment, then shuffled up to Tasuki. "Tasuki, please calm down."
Tasuki whirled around and a few of his tears splattered onto the boy. With a voice full of hurt, he said, "Chiriko, Nuriko was my best friend and he died. Howdja expect me ta calm down, huh?"
Chiriko shrank back. "But it wasn't Mitsukake's fault."
Tasuki slapped Chiriko, knocking him into the snow next to Nuriko.
No one spoke for a full minute as they all watched Chiriko's emerald eyes fill up with tears.
Tasuki was filled with sudden regret. What had he just done? He hadn't meant to slap Chiriko. "Chiriko, I'm sorry," he whispered sadly.
Tamahome shook himself free of the shock and grabbed Tasuki's arm. "What the hell did you think you were doing?! What did you slap Chiriko for? He didn't do anything to you!" He shoved Tasuki to the ground and continued shouting. "I am sick and tired of you. Calm down, will you?! Nuriko's dead and you have to face it!"
Miaka came over to Tasuki's side and took his hand pleadingly. "Please, Tasuki, Nuriko was already dead before the four of you arrived. No one could have saved him. Stop blaming Mitsukake, and especially yourself. You couldn't have done anything to save him."
Chichiri crouched down next to Tasuki. "Nuriko was the only one who had a chance to defeat Ashitare. None of us would have been able to." Chichiri touched Tasuki's left shoulder. "Don't blame yourself for coming too late."
Tasuki looked at his friends, then at Nuriko's healed body. He put his head in his arms and tears welled up in his amber eyes. "It's true. I was blamin' myself 'cause I wasn't with Nuriko when he died. I shoulda gone wit' him, not Mitsukake. Tha's why I was screamin' at him. An' blew up at Chiriko." He closed his eyes and the welled-up tears slipped down his face. He buried his head in his arms and sobbed.
~Hey Leda, only three people have reviewed so far, remember?~
Oh. Well, anyways, this is Amefuri. *points to the blue-haired seishi next to her.* He's been helping me edit. ^^ His talking's going to be in the "~" symbols. But anyways, I've submitted this fic to Faniac. Really hope they'll accept it!
~I hope she didn't get any names wrong. Just the kind of thing she would do..-_- ~
Amefuri, you're not being fair! I haven't seen the anime, only the manga! *punches Amefuri into the sky, then turns around.* But anyways, this chapter starts with Miaka and Tamahome and ends with Tasuki. And for my Taiitsukun fic, I think my writer's block is almost gone! :D
Chapter Two
Miaka stopped crying and looked at Tamahome. "Tamahome, how are we going to tell the others?"
"Miaka!" she heard Tasuki cry. "Wha' happened?"
Miaka turned and saw Tasuki, Mitsukake, Chichiri, and Chiriko running up to them. She buried her face in her hand and cried.
Tamahome answered for her, pointing to Ashitare's limp body. "Nuriko killed Ashitare, but he died, too. Ashitare's claws, they, they pierced Nuriko's body!"
"No," Tasuki whispered. "No! That's impossible! Nuriko's stronger than tha'!" he knelt next to his friend's body and shook him. "Nuriko, wake up! Nuriko!"
Miaka struggled not to cry, but tears slipped out anyways. Tamahome pulled her close to him and hugged her. Chichiri hugged Chiriko close to him, trying to comfort him. Mitsukake fell to his knees and slammed his palms on the snow. "Why? Why does this always happen to me? Why do I always come too late?" He took a deep breath and tried not to cry. Tears splashed onto the snow and his body shook.
Tasuki continued shouting at Nuriko. "Nuriko, you hafta wake up! Yer makin' everyone cry!" He brushed his tears away. "Nuriko!" he screamed.
*****
The violet-haired Warrior of Suzaku hesitated. "Suzaku, my friends are calling to me. They don't want me to leave. What am I going to do? I have to do something!"
"Go into my palace. You are the first to die, but not the last. Nuriko, you are already dead and cannot do anything. Accept that."
"But-"
"Go." He pointed at the door. Nuriko sighed and stepped through it. There was nothing he could do now. He was but a spirit in his world. Kourin jumped after him.
"Ryuuen, don't worry. Nothing bad's going to happen to them!"
He smiled sadly at her. "I know, but I can't help worrying, you know? Miaka and the others, they don't understand just how powerful the Seiryuu Seven are. And they're worried about me. I must find a way to ease their souls!"
Suzaku appeared next to him. "They just need some time to grieve, but they'll be all right. They are, after all, my seishi. I chose each of them for specific reasons."
"What was mine?"
"You were Miaka's mentor. And you taught her much about love. Like how you don't have to be different genders to love each other deeply." He paused for a moment. "You may stay here in my palace until the time arises for you to return home."
"I'm going to go back soon?" Nuriko eagerly asked.
"Yes, but not now. Rest, my seishi. My seishi who returned to me first, rest."
Kourin tugged on Nuriko's arm. "C'mon, Ryuuen, I'll show you your room! It's right next to mine!"
Nuriko smiled. "All right, Kourin. And after that, we're going to have a nice talk. There are some things I need to tell you so you can catch up with the present."
Kourin clapped her hands and grinned. "Yay!"
*****
Tasuki wiped his tears away. Nuriko wasn't going to wake up ever again. He wanted to scream. How could this have happened? Why hadn't he gone with Nuriko? Why? If he had, maybe he wouldn't have died. Fate was cruel to him. The people closest to him always died. First his master, now Nuriko. And for Nuriko's death to be so gruesome just made it more painful.
"Tasuki, what are we going to do now?" Chiriko timidly asked.
Tasuki raised his head and looked at the little kid. Here was someone he would be able to protect. He was only thirteen and inexperienced in the world, unlike him. This was probably the first death Chiriko had ever had to face. He smiled briefly. "We'll bury Nuriko right now."
Mitsukake crouched next to Tasuki. "Here. Let me do this." He held his right hand over Nuriko's body and green bubbles floated into him. The wounds over his body quickly healed and vanished.
Tasuki watched Mitsukake do all this. Suddenly, something stirred inside him. Mitsukake, damn him, why was he doing this now? "Mitsukake, why did you wait so long?! Yer just damn useless! Wha' have ya done that's ever helped us before?" He grabbed Mitsukake's shoulders and screamed at him. "Damn you! I hate you! You're never where you hafta be! Ya let yer own fiancée die! And now ya heal Nuriko after he dies! Why not before?!" He reached for his tessen. "I'm gonna kill ya now! Ya just let Nuriko die! Rekka Shin'nen!"
Chichiri slammed his staff on the ground in front of Mitsukake and managed to project a shield just in time. He ripped off his mask. "Tasuki, what the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Let me at him! He doesn't deserve to live! Rekka Shin'nen!" Flames shot out of his tessen again. Luckily, Chichiri's shield was still up and the flames passed harmlessly over the two of them.
Tamahome grabbed Tasuki's shoulders. "Tasuki, stop it! Calm down! It's not Mitsukake's fault!"
"Yes it is! He's never around when he's really needed! Nuriko dyin's all his fault!"
Mitsukake continued staring at the ground. Tamaneko jumped down from Mitsukake's shoulder and licked his hand. Tasuki grew more and more enraged as the healer didn't say anything to his defense.
"Jus' watch him! He's not even sayin' a thing! He doesn't care 'bout Nuriko!" Tasuki yelled. "He deserves ta die!" With each word, his rage grew more and more until he saw red. Suddenly, all he wanted to do was kill that worthless piece of trash. And no one would be able to stop him. He jerked himself free of Tamahome's grasp and stormed forward. "Chichiri, let down that shield," he ordered.
Chichiri stared calmly into his friend's furious face, which had transformed beyond recognition. "No. Not until you calm down."
"I WON' CALM DOWN TIL L YA LET ME AT 'IM!!!!!!" Tasuki screamed. His tessen began spitting out randomly, creating steam as they hit the snow.
Miaka grabbed his sleeve. "Tasuki, please stop!" she cried. "It's not Mitsukake's fault! No one could have saved Nuriko! He was already d-dead before all you showed up." She choked. "Please don't blame anyone. It wasn't anyone's fault."
Tasuki's vision cleared as he watched Miaka's tears slip into the snow and vanish. His rage began to dissipate. "N-Nuriko," he managed to choke out and he fell to his knees. He slammed his palms into the wet snow. He began weeping angrily. The other Constellations looked at each other, not knowing what to do. Chichiri looked back at Mitsukake and was surprised to notice tears streaming down his face.
"Tasuki's right, I am useless. Everything he said was right. I wasn't able to help Nuriko."
Chichiri turned to face Mitsukake. "You're not worthless. You saved Tamahome's life back when he was under the control of the kodoku."
Mitsukake bowed his head. "But other than that, what else have I done?"
"Damn right! I'd like ter know, too!" Tasuki bellowed. He stood up and thrust his tessen at Mitsukake. "You shoulda been the one who died! Not Nuriko!" The rest of what he was going to say caught in his throat. Miaka and the others watched Tasuki, afraid of what he would do next.
Chiriko hesitated for a moment, then shuffled up to Tasuki. "Tasuki, please calm down."
Tasuki whirled around and a few of his tears splattered onto the boy. With a voice full of hurt, he said, "Chiriko, Nuriko was my best friend and he died. Howdja expect me ta calm down, huh?"
Chiriko shrank back. "But it wasn't Mitsukake's fault."
Tasuki slapped Chiriko, knocking him into the snow next to Nuriko.
No one spoke for a full minute as they all watched Chiriko's emerald eyes fill up with tears.
Tasuki was filled with sudden regret. What had he just done? He hadn't meant to slap Chiriko. "Chiriko, I'm sorry," he whispered sadly.
Tamahome shook himself free of the shock and grabbed Tasuki's arm. "What the hell did you think you were doing?! What did you slap Chiriko for? He didn't do anything to you!" He shoved Tasuki to the ground and continued shouting. "I am sick and tired of you. Calm down, will you?! Nuriko's dead and you have to face it!"
Miaka came over to Tasuki's side and took his hand pleadingly. "Please, Tasuki, Nuriko was already dead before the four of you arrived. No one could have saved him. Stop blaming Mitsukake, and especially yourself. You couldn't have done anything to save him."
Chichiri crouched down next to Tasuki. "Nuriko was the only one who had a chance to defeat Ashitare. None of us would have been able to." Chichiri touched Tasuki's left shoulder. "Don't blame yourself for coming too late."
Tasuki looked at his friends, then at Nuriko's healed body. He put his head in his arms and tears welled up in his amber eyes. "It's true. I was blamin' myself 'cause I wasn't with Nuriko when he died. I shoulda gone wit' him, not Mitsukake. Tha's why I was screamin' at him. An' blew up at Chiriko." He closed his eyes and the welled-up tears slipped down his face. He buried his head in his arms and sobbed.