Disclaimer: Fushigi Yuugi is the hard work of Yuu Watase & I cannot claim any credit for it.
Reunion of friends.
Chapter 3: Shared Memories
"Kasaru! We're here!" Tatara sat up at sound of that voice. Only one person called him in such a manner by his non-seishi name. The dark-haired seishi put down the scroll he was reading. He hurried to the main hall of the shrine. Sure enough, his childhood friend was standing in the hall in front of the statue of Byakko.
"Lanuan!" The two friends exchanged greetings. Tokaki never really got the meaning of being respectful in a sacred place. He thumped Tatara heartily on the back. Tatara grinned and thumped him back. "Tell me where you've been all these months?"
"Kasaru, how are you feeling, old friend?"
"As young and strong as ever, Lanuan," Tatara declared.
Subaru smiled as she watched the antics of the two men. In the shrine, Tatara would be known by his seishi name. She had regretfully fallen into that habit herself. Only her roguish husband will discard protocol in such a manner. Tatara would have grown old, older than Tokaki if it weren't for what she did.
His dark hair would have turned white. His body would have shriveled with age. He was of that physical type. Probably, he'd complain of achy joints on cold nights like his friend did.
"Dourin! What are you waiting there for?" Tokaki's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. She lifted her skirts and followed them up to Tatara's private rooms in the shrine.
The Byakko shrine was a tall building. It was large and grand, with rooms to accommodate pilgrims from all over Sairou and the numerous shrine attendants who saw to the needs of their God. It also offered an unrivalled view of the stars from its flat roof for the shrine attendants to make predictions. It was both sanctuary and prison to Tatara.
Tatara's rooms were high up in the shrine building and offered a spectacular view of the city. Their host ordered tea and cakes to be brought. Soon the trio were chatting of the days long past.
"Remember how we met your wife, Lanuan?" Tatara teased.
Tokaki nodded. "We were staying at an inn. The two of us were feeling a bit down and went to the house bar for drinks. My Dourin was working as a waitress… She had such a lovely figure and I was a little high from the drinks…" He yelped as Subaru pinched him hard.
"Excuse me. I never bought your excuse of drunkenness then and surely not now. You had your hand groping up my skirt!" Subaru chided. They laughed at the memory.
Decades ago, Tatara and Tokaki sat at the bar drinking. "I think one of us should be guarding Suzuno…" Tatara spoke unhappily. He tried to rise but his companion stopped him. "Look, we both mistook that person for Subaru. She probably still upset with us. Give her time to cool down."
The fake Subaru turned out to be a thief and made off with Suzuno's precious gold locket that her mother had given her. They had retrieved the locket. However, it got broken in the ensuing fight. Suzuno had cried and chased them both out of her room. Tatara sighed. Tokaki noticed the pretty waitress heading their way…
"Pervert!" The waitress screeched. He had almost lifted her skirt when she suddenly slammed her tray on his head. She's so quick! Dazed, he stared at the Amazon before him. Whoa, sassy!
"Dourin! Are you beating up the guests again? How'd we get you married?" Her mother bemoaned from the kitchen at the ruckus. Before she could reply, all hell broke loose…
"Then the assassins attacked. Suzuno got stabbed…" Tatara's eyes took a faraway look. Suzuno was trying to shield Tatara from an assassin's sword. Tatara could still recall the pain he felt then. The young waitress from the bar saved Suzuno's life by turning time back for her. They had found Subaru.
"Suzuno! No!" Tatara cradled her in his arms. She was bleeding so much that she was close to death. The young waitress watched the young man and the strange girl. A sudden thought occurred to her. She pushed her way to the front of the gathered crowd.
"Allow me!" She focused her energy on the girl. Turning time back… She had never done this with a living thing before. Till then, she had only used her power to mend broken crockery in the kitchen.
She was relieved when the bloodstain on the front of the girl's bodice shrank in size and disappeared. The girl opened her eyes weakly. "T-Tatara?" She blinked and smiled at the man cradling her.
"Byakko seshi, Subaru, at your service!" Without really understanding why, Dourin bowed before the girl whose life she just saved. It came so naturally to her that there was no denying the bond that bound them.
"Kasaru, you must tell me the recipe for these cakes if you have it, they're delicious!" Subaru changed the topic as the memories of Suzuno came. He'd already given the recipe last week, still…
When Lanuan and Dourin leave, will I be able to continue?
Author's notes:
Hydra-star: Noted the inconsistency on the Genbu light myself. In the Genbu Kaiden, it is mentioned as a silver light. But in the anime it's shown as a green one. Maybe it's b'cos the seishis have been dead for 200 yrs?
Anyhow, traditionally, the representative colors of the sacred beasts are as follows: Suzaku (Red Phoenix) – Red; Seiryuu (Green Dragon) – Green; Genbu (Black Warrior) – Black; Byakko (White Tiger) – White. It may get a bit tricky trying to show a white or black light, I suppose… so…
The 3 seishi are very close friends so I let them call each other by their non-seishi names. I let them be the first seishis Suzuno found. Tokaki is a bit of a rogue, kinda Tasuki without the 'I-hate-women' (sic) routine.