Disclaimers: I don't own Fushigi Yuugi.
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Narrator's POV
Hikitsu looked around himself. He was.... on Mt. Taikyoku? H-How did I get here? And why am I floating?! And.....' he looked down at his hand. Through it, he could see the tiled floor of the room that he was in. W-What?! What's going on? The last thing that I can remember is.....' His thoughts trailed off as he realized what was going on. Of course. He was dead. He had heard legends that Mt. Taikyoku was where the spirits of the dead went before moving on the the after live, but he had never seen any while he was training with Taiitsukun, so he had never believed them. Yes.... He knew this room. It was the same one that he had stayed in when he, Takiko, Tomite and Uruki had come to get help from Taiitsukun, so long ago. What do I do now? Do I just wait for Taiitsukun or Genbu or whoever to come and take me away? And what is happening to Uruki and the others, now?' He thought.
Well, well, well. What do we have here?
It was, of course, Taiitsukun. But by her side was someone unexpected. Four someone's to be exact. They were the four beast gods, Suzaku, Seiryuu, Byakko, and, of course, Genbu. Hikitsu immediately bowed, but has he straightened, he sent a glare towards Seiryuu, for he was the god of the country that had attacked Hokkan and Hikitsu felt as if everything that had happened was the dragon god's fault. Seiryuu only arched his thick eyebrows and murmured something to Byakko who let a bubbly laugh except his lips.
The best way to describe Byakko would probably be beautiful. The tiger god of the west had long white hair tied up in a high ponytail with two long strands hanging down in front of his eyes and a wonderful headpiece that looked a bit like a tigers claw set around it. He was wearing white armor with some gray on it. It was also covered with a swirl type pattern. Starting right above his elbows and going to his wrists were bands going around his arms that were covered white fur that was striped with a dark gray like a tigers. His eyes were golden and looked like a cats and his soft, full mouth was quicker to smile than to frown. On his high forehead, a white symbol glowed brightly.
The first thing that caught Hikitsu's eyes about Suzaku were his wings. The were red, like fire, and seemed to be big enough to carry the god in flight. His armor was red with gold trimmings and his face was lovely and serene, although not quite as lovely as Byakko's. Suzaku's fiery red hair was much shorter that Byakko's, but it's style was interesting. Most of it seemed to almost stick up, although not quite, except for two strands witch fell in front of his eyes. His eyes were, three guesses, red, but, although that is usually a symbol of madness, his were calm and quiet. The phoenix god of love's eyes almost seemed to be full of the feeling that he represented and Hikitsu could see that he love the other three gods deeply and would continue to do so, no matter what happened. On Suzaku's forehead, a red symbol glowed.
Hikitsu had already seen Genbu once but still found himself stunned by the way he seemed so different, yet so much like a normal human. He had straight, obsidian black hair that was tied up in a loop on the top of his head and piercing, dark green eyes. He was wearing black armor and had a strange snake, that was so dark of a green that it almost looked black, wrapped around his neck staring at anything and everything that moved. His mouth was narrow and above it was a small black mustache that matched his hair. His armor was black and had a pattern like a tortoise's shell. He looked as if he was the oldest of the four, bout it was hard to tell. After all, they were all gods. As far as Hikitsu knew, they could live forever. In the center on the god's forehead, was a glowing, green symbol.
When Hikitsu saw Seiryuu, the first thing that his eyes were draws to were the gods eyes. They were a light purple, but if the light hit them in the right way they looked almost blue. But it was not their color that drew him to this part of the god. If he looked deep into them, he could see a deep sadness, pushed away again and again, but never quite leaving. It was only then that he realized something important. Gods rub off on the people who worship them. Because he was the god of war, his people were always fighting. But that did not mean that this god wanted them to. He may be cruel compared to the other gods, as was his nature in all of the legends, but that did not mean that he was bloodthirsty like everyone seemed to think he was. And the other three gods seemed to love him deeply, as if he was their brother. Of course. They're all brothers, aren't they?' Hikitsu thought.
Seiryuu's armor was blue with a bit of purple. His eyebrows were thick and always seemed to be frowning. His hair was blue and put up in a ponytail like Byakko's. He was not unearthly beautiful, like Byakko and Suzaku, but, like Genbu, he did have something about him that told anyone who looked at him that he was not a normal human. In the center of his forehead, a blue symbol glowed.
And then, there was Taiitsukun. The old woman watched thoughtfully as her former pupil examined the gods. Especially when he looked at Seiryuu. She watched his eyes and by doing so, knew when he had found in the gods eyes what she had hoped he would discover. Even if it was only one who did not, she didn't want all the people of Hokkan to blame Seiryuu for who his people had become. She already knew that the god wished that things were not so and was hoping that when his miko came, she would make things right and show that people of Kutou that they did not have to fight to get whatever they wanted. After all, she was Seiryuu's, as well as all the others, mother, for she had created them, and mothers always want their children to be happy.
Finally, Taiitsukun said, Well, Hikitsu, as you have no doubly discovered, you are dead. This is the place were seishi, mikos, emperors, and other people of such ranks come before they go on to the land of the dead. Seishi and mikos, and only seishi and mikos, have the choice to either stay here, or go the the other land, or be reborn. But, Hikitsu, I would like to offer you another choice. I would like you to stay here until another one of your fellow seishi die, whenever that may be, and then I will offer you this choice. Is that okay with you?
Hikitsu thought about this for a moment before finally answering, At this, Byakko smiled.
In that case, the god said, I believe that there is someone who wants to talk to you. In fact, my dear sister has been begging to see you since you arrived.
Hikitsu asked...
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Takiko's POV
Pain. That was all that I felt. Just pain. I hurt at every part of my body. Every muscle ached. Each bone throbbed. All the I could feel in every part of my body was the massive pain the consumed it. I tried to move my arm, but the shock that was sent through my body was to much to bare.
I groaned as a opened my eyes. It was dark in the room. Very dark. What had happened to me? Why was I in so much pain? I tried to think back to..... I don't know how long it had been since I was last awake. I just thought back to whenever that was, trying to find some answers in the depths of my mind. I had summoned Genbu. Yes.... That was right. And then, I had fainted, I don't know for how long. When I woke up, I had been told....... I had been told that Tomite and Hikitsu... were dead. No! That couldn't be right! But it was. At first, I hadn't believed it. But then I had seen Hikitsu's mangled body with my own eyes. And Namame and Umiyame..... they had told me.... They had told me that Tomite were dead. It was too cruel to be a joke. Too real to be a dream.
Then..... I had made my first wish to Genbu. No..... I had made the wish before Namame and Umiyame had come. I had wished for Hokkan to be saved. I had completed my task. I had done as the emperor had asked me to do. But at such a price..... If Hikitsu and Tomite had to die for me to be able to make that wish, then I think that I would have rather not have made it. It wasn't fair. It just wasn't fair. What was the use of saving thousands of people, and entire country, if I couldn't save two of the people I cared most for? No. Not just two of the people I cared most for. The two people I cared most for. Yes. I cared for them more then any of the other seishi. I'm embarrassed to admit it, but it's true. Tomite had saved me more than any of the others, both emotionally and physically. He was the man I loved. No one could replace him in my heart. Hikitsu was always strong when I was weak. He had been through so much, but had still managed to hold on. I could never have done that. He accepted me for who I was. To him, I was only , not the Genbu no Miko. He was the second seishi I had found and had saved me more times than I could count. He had managed to work his way just as deep into my heart as Tomite, although in a different way.
Although the pain in my body hurt more than anything anyone could ever imagine, I can honestly say that the pain in my heart hurt more. I curled up into a small ball and cried for hours, and hours, and hours. I cried until I had no more tears left to cry, and then I cried in my heart just as long, just as hard. All this time I had been planning to stay in this world, but what was the point? What was the point now that Tomite and Hikitsu were gone? I just wanted to be happy. Was that to much to ask, Genbu? Was it to much to ask to let me be with Tomite and my other friends in this world? Was that so wrong?' I wondered. Apparently, the answer was yes, for I got no reply from the god of whom I represented. Answer me, Genbu!' I cried inside my mind, but again, I got no reply. Please.....' Why would he not answer me? Why did he ignore me so?
If I had been in the correct state of mind, I probably would have realized that he was a god and was most likely very busy. But I was not in the correct state of mind. My body hurt like hell (no offense to any devout Christians or anyone else who believes in that sort of stuff) and I was drowning in my grief.
Takiko-sama? Are you awake? A voice asked from the door. I turned and saw that it was Hatsui.
I murmured.
Are you all right? He asked as he walked foreword. Was I all right? Of course I wasn't All right! How could I be All right?
Y-yes.... I'm fine... I lied. I didn't want to make him or any of the others worry about me, and I could see in his eyes that he was. I'm just fine...
Are you sure?
I answered with all the force I could muster, but I couldn't stop a small wince from pain. He didn't look very convinced. He looked at me for a moment and then said, You've been crying...
H-how did you know?
Your cheeks are all blotchy. And your nose is red. I should have known that he knew because of that. Some woman can cry and still look beautiful. I'm not one of them.
We were both silent for a moment. Finally I asked, It's not true, is it?
Is what not true?
Tomite..... Tomite and Hikitsu.... They're not really dead, are they? He was silent for a while before finally saying, No, Takiko. It is true.
I don't believe you...
Can you stand? That surprised me. Why would he be asking me that?
Can you stand?
Can you?!
Um..... I think so. I said, sitting up. Gingerly, I placed my feet firmly on the floor and stood. The room spun. I grabbed onto Hatsui to steady myself. Finally, the room stopped.
Come with me, Hatsui said as he helped my out of the room. He led me down a long hallway, stopping every so often so that I could rest, and finally brought me to a door.
Open it.
I said, open it. Don't be afraid.
Carefully, I opened the door. What met my eyes, is something that I will never forget.
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~End of Chapter 40~
Long chapter. Long time to get it out, too. Sorry! I did it again! ~_~ I really will try not to do it again, but I can't make any promises. Recently, my life has gotten really hectic! XP The hardest part to write was probably the descriptions of the gods. I have one color picture of them all, and I tried to describe how they looked in that, but it was really hard. ~.~ Seiryuu was particularly hard. I have never pictured him as pure evil and always thought that he was probably very grieved because of what his seishi and miko did. I tried to convey that in this. Do you think that I did a good job? Anyway, I know that it's a bit late, but happy holidays, everyone! I hope that you had a great Christmas, Chanukah, or whatever you celebrate! Please review! As a Christmas present! (Hee hee.....) ^^ More coming soon!
