Disclaimer: I don't own Fushigi Yuugi.
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Narrator's POV
Tomite stirred. Where was he? He could hear voices? 'Am I dead?' He thought. He wondered if Takiko had made it. The last thing he could remember was her screaming his name. Then all he could remember was darkness. Slowly, painfully, he opened his eyes.
"Tomite! You're awake! Thank the gods you're okay!" Takiko exclaimed. She was very happy to see that he'd finally waken up. Even after Hikitsu's assurances that he was fine, she had begun to worry that he hadn't made it. "You've been asleep for three days!"
"Three days? It's been that long?"
"Well... Four, if you count the day it took us to get here. The tribe was farther than we'd thought."
"Where is 'here?' And who is 'we?'" Hikitsu stepped out of the shadows.
"Tomite, this is Hikitsu! He saved my life, and probably yours too."
"You really should thank Takiko. She barely left your side the whole time you were out," Hikitsu said and Takiko turned pink.
"Hikitsu! I did not! Besides, I was just worried! It's nothing like that!" Takiko exclaimed. 'Takiko was worried about me? But why? I may of almost died but... The Genbu no Miko was worried about me?' He didn't know why, but for some reason it made Tomite feel glad that she had cared enough about him to worry.
"Hikitsu? Isn't that the name of one of the Genbu Seishi? Are you...?" Tomite said as he shook Hikitsu's hand. He noticed, with approval, that Hikitsu's hand was a calloused one of a hard working man.
"Yes, I am. My real name is Chen Entato, but my seishi name is Hikitsu." Hikitsu, too, noticed that Tomite's hand had many calluses. He smiled at the boy and the let go of each other's hands and Hikitsu reached his hand up to his eye. "My symbol is on my eye," he said and it began to glow. He quietly removed the eye patch and Takiko gasped. Underneath, his eye was a milky white. In the center where there should have been a pupil, there was the Kanji symbol To, which means Ladle. After a few seconds he put the eye patch back on and looked Takiko and Tomite. To their surprise he gave a small chuckle. They looked very strange. Both of their mouths were hanging open and their eyes were huge. Nether had ever seen anything like what they had seen and if they were lucky they would never have to again. Hikitsu walked out leaving the two alone, still chuckling.
"That was... Strange,"
"Strange is an understatement," replied Takiko.
"So... I was out for four days. That's a lot of time we've lost. It's good that we found the next seishi, but we really should get going and find the rest before Kutou attacks the capital or something. We should probably leave tomorrow."
"No! You need your rest! I'm not leaving until you're better!"
"But..."
"No! You need to get better. What's the use of finding the other seishi if you die?"
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Tomite's POV
"You don't know how scared I've been these past few days! I thought you were dead!" She yelled. I looked down. She was right. I didn't know what she'd been through.
"You should know by now that I wouldn't have let a bastard like that kill me. It was stupid to worry." I saw tears well up in her eyes. She turned away from me and I felt the guilt rise up in me. I wanted to hold her tight and say that I was sorry, but it was to late. The damage had been done. I watched silently as she fought tears.
"I see. So you think I'm stupid?" She asked. I could hear the hurt in her voice even though she tried to hide it. She stood up. "Fine then. I was a fool to even care if an idiot like you died! I should have known that you were immortal after only knowing you for a few weeks! I shouldn't have been scared when that man stabbed you! I shouldn't have been worried when the healers here said that there was only a slim chance that you'd live! I shouldn't have cared if a stupid person like you died. It would probably make the world a better place anyway!" I watched as the tears that she'd been fighting to hide began to fall down her cheeks. She turned and stalked out of the tent still crying silently.
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Hikitsu's POV
I listened from just outside the tent as Takiko yelled at Tomite. She stalked out of the room, tears running down her face, and saw me.
"You heard?"
"Yes." She quietly let the flap drop shut.
"How could he be so cruel? I was really worried about him."
"I don't really know him well but... Well..."
"Well...?"
"I think that Tomite has a hard time express his feelings. I don't think that he meant to hurt you. He must not be used to other people worrying about him and doesn't really know how to reply."
"Y-you think so?" She asked with a shaky smile as she dried her eyes.
"Yes."
"How do you know? You don't even know Tomite."
"I've always been good at reading people. Tomite seems to be very sad and confused. Like he doesn't really know what his purpose in life is. He also seems to have a very sad past. One that he can't really get over. It's probably a mix between the two that makes it so he can't express his feelings well."
"Well... I think you're at least right about his past..."
"I also think that he probably has a hard time apologizing because of his pride. But I also think that he cares enough about you that he will swallow his pride and, even though it will be hard for him, apologize to you."
"I guess you're right. I suppose I should apologize as well. I said some pretty mean things in there too." Takiko smiled.
"Well... We could try a little experiment to see if I'm right. I'll go in and talk to him, and you can wait here and listen." Okay... That was evil. I shouldn't be telling her to spy on Tomite... If she did it now, she may do it again... But I had to make sure that those two got back together before we left. It wouldn't do to have the Genbu no Miko and one of the celestial warriors fighting. Besides I thought my instincts where right about Tomite. Takiko's smile widdened.
"Sounds like fun. And you're right. I can find out if he's sorry this way."
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Tomite's POV
I didn't hear Hikitsu enter the tent. I also didn't hear him approach me. I was to absorbed in my own thoughts and he was almost silent. I couldn't believe that I'd said those awful things to Takiko. Also, even though her words stung, in my heart I knew they were true. Hikitsu put a hand on my shoulder and woke me from my thoughts.
'What's wrong?" He asked.
"You know perfectly well what's wrong. You were listing the whole time. Do you honestly think I didn't notice?" He chuckled.
"My, my. You are sharp. I didn't think either of you knew. But it was exactly that kind of tone that got you into trouble with Takiko." I winced.
"I shouldn't have said those things. They were cruel, and she was just worried. I really had no right to say them. It's all because of my dumb pride. I refused to believe that she was just simply worried. I kept thinking that she was treating me like a little kid. But she was sincerely worried. As much as I hate it, I'll have to apologize to her."
"I'm sure she'll understand."
"I wish I were as confident as you in my ability to convince her that I didn't mean it."
"You should be fine."
"The truth is... I'm not sure if my pride was the only reason that I was harsh with her.
"What do you think it was?"
"I didn't want her to think of me as weak or unable to take care of my self... I... I think... I think that I may be falling in love with her."
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End of chapter 5
Wow! What a cliffhanger. A pretty boring chapter, but I needed some more time to develop their characters. It will get more interesting, so please hang with me! Also, whoever's reading this, REVIEW!! Please! I'm already done with chapter five and I've only gotten ONE review. Why I'm on the subject, thank you miLady for my first and only review! Everyone give her a hand! YEA!! More coming soon!
--Hydra-Star
