Disclaimers: I don't own Fushigi Yuugi.

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Narrator's POV

Will you marry me, Takiko? Will you stay in this world and become my wife? Tomite asked as he knelt and held out a ring. The ring had a gold band and a small emerald on it. To many, it might have looked plain, but to Takiko, it was beautiful. She knew that Tomite must have spent all of his savings on it, for he was not rich. No. If anything, he was poor. But he still wanted to marry her. He still wanted to be with her forever.

I... I... I...


I'm not ready for this. I don't know what to say. Of course I want to marry him, but is that the right choice? If I say yes, then I'll have to stay in this world. I'll never see my father, Suzuno-san, or any of my other friends again. I'll never go back to my world. But if I say no...' Takiko thought.

Then she looked into Tomite's deep, brown eyes, so full of hope and love, and she knew what her answer must be.

she said in a small voice. Yes. I'll stay. I'll be your wife. His face broke into the grin that she loved so much and he slipped the ring onto her finger. She looked at it, an everlasting symbol of their love, and then at his smiling face. And when their eyes met, Tomite closed the gap between them and kissed her gently. She wrapped her arms around his neck, running her fingers through his silky brown hair, pulling him closer.

Finally, they pulled back, breathing a little hard. Takiko whispered in his ear.



I love you, Tomite. He grinned for about the millionth time.

Yeah. Me too. They were just about to kiss again when there was a knock on the door.

Takiko-sama! Takiko-sama! It's time for your purifying bath.

Darn it! I was just beginning to have fun, too. Takiko muttered softly so that the servant at the door couldn't hear. What she called out in reply was, I'll be there in a moment. She then gave Tomite a quick peck on the lips and swept a brush through her now tangly hair to get it to lay flat. Once that was done, she went to the door and left her room.

As she walked down the halls after the servant, Takiko was lost deep in thought. He asked me to marry him. And I said yes. I never thought that this would happen. I know that he loves me and that I love him, but I never thought that we would actually get married. I always thought that after this was all over, I would just go back to my world and forget about him. But... I guess that even if I tried, I would never really be able to just forget about him. I love him to much. Once Genbu is summoned and Hokkan is saved, I'll wish to become a permenent resident of this world and then for happiness for all of my seishi. After all, they deserve it. They've done so much for me and never asked for anything in return. It's the least that I can do for them, after all that they've done for me; wish for them to be happy.' Almost directly after Takiko had decided this, she found herself at the bath where she would purify herself. In the other three countries, the bath would have been outside, but not in Hokkan. To go into water outside in Hokkan for long periods of time was to ask for death by freezing. It was simply too cold. And so, unlike all of the other gods, Genbu did not ask for his miko to be purify herself outside. Instead, Takiko was to be purified in a small bath that was connected to the temple and wasn't allowed to be used in any other way so that the water would remain clean and pure.

Takiko slowly shed her clothes and waded into the water. It was the perfect temperature to her cold body, small clouds of steam rising from it, making a sharp contrast to the crisp air all around the room. Slowly, Takiko began to relax and enjoy her bath. She finally knew what she wanted for her wishes. She and Tomite would get married. And she would finally be happy with the friends and her love that she had found in this world. Everything was finally falling into place. Takiko smiled, feeling the soothing water wash all around her, and sighed in contentment. The small waves rocked her slowly and she began to feel a little sleepy. Determined to stay awake, she plunged her head under the foamy water and held her breath until she had to have air. Then, she lurched to the surface, breathing hard.

My lady, this is not play time. You are supposed to be purifying yourself, said one of the seven ladies that had come with her to help her get ready for the summoning. After she had finished purifying herself, they would help her dress and then tell her exactly what she would have to do to summon the beast god and how to do it. The one that had spoken was one of the six that she didn't know. The last one was Uruki. If anything happened while she was preparing for the summoning, Uruki would protect her.

Of course. Takiko replied. Um... But exactly how do I purify myself? Do I just sit here?

Basically...that's half of it. You're also supposed to wash yourself with these, Uruki replied as she handed Takiko a small tray that had special shampoos, conditioners and soaps, careful not to let her skin or any of her clothes touch the water. Takiko took it and thanked her friend. Then, she began to use the items on the tray, carefully making sure that every inch on herself was clean. Once that was done, she stood and reluctantly walked out of the warm bath, shivering as the cold air hit her wet skin. Uruki and the other girls wrapped her in a soft towel, drying her off as well as they could. Then, they took her back to her rooms in witch they began to dress and groom her. Each article of clothing had to be put on in a certain order, in a certain way and after it was put on, Takiko would have to murmur a prayer to Genbu before the next part of the outfit was put on, making the process very long and tiring.

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Uruki's POV

When we where finally done dressing Takiko, I stood back and admired our work. Her outfit consisted of a long, dark green dress with a black swirl type design in it. The pattern stopped right above her knees and elbows and there the fabric changed into an almost see through fabric; so light a green that it was almost white. Half of her long, silky, raven black hair, that had been brushed so much that it shown, was up in a loose bun, but the rest of it was left down. By the bun was an extraordinary, gold, flower head piece that stood out against her dark locks. On her feet were soft, dark green slippers that barely made any noise when she walked. On her lips was just a dab of red lipstick, but she wore no other makeup. She looked... Beautiful.

Takiko slowly turned around in a circle, her skirts whispering with her movement, letting us admire our work. It was still a half an hour until we were to perform the summoning, but we still had to tell Takiko what she would have to do in order to summon Genbu. Still, before that, we decided to take five minutes to relax. During our break, I decided to go get the other seishi and share our masterpiece with them. I wanted them to be able to admire Takiko before the summoning. Quickly, I went and got Namame. I told him to get the other seishi and then to go to Takiko's room.

Soon they where all admiring her. Tomite started.

Well... How does she look? I asked.

Something's missing... Tomite continued, ignoring my question.

Missing?! What could be missing?! She looks perfect! I almost yelled, apalled by the thought that he might think that she didn't look great. But instead of answering me, he left the room.

I wonder where he's going... Hatsui said and the rest of us nodded. When I glanced at Takiko, I could of sworn that she looked hurt. But in a few minutes, Tomite was back. He strode over to Takiko and placed a necklace around her neck. Takiko looked down at it, grinned, and muttered the prayer that she had been saying each time that something was put on her. I grinned as well and admired the necklace.

Say, Tomite, where did you get this? I want one. I asked. Tomite only smiled a small, sad smile.

It was my mother's, he said quietly, looking sad.

Oh, Tomite, if it was your mother's, then I can't take it. I could never take this, Takiko said and was about to take it off and give it back to him when he stopped her, shaking his head.

This was given to my mother by my father. It was given to my father by his mother and to his mother by her father. When my mother gave it to me, she told me to give it to the woman that I loved someday, he said. She smiled and nodded. Then, the emperor walked in.

Everyone, where're about to start the summoning, he said. We all quickly hurried out of the room and got into our places for the summoning...

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~End of Chapter 31~

Just so you all know, the necklace that Tomite gave Takiko is the future shinzaho. I wanted to make it a symbol of Takiko and Tomite's love, like Suzuno's was symbol of her love with Tatara. Hm... I can't believe that the next chapter will be the summoning. it feels hard to believe that I've gotten so far with this fic. Anyway, please review. More coming soon.

~And remember: More reviews=A a happier author=More chapters quicker!~