Disclaimer: I don't own Fushigi Yuugi.
A/N: I'M BACK!!! Sorry I took such a long break everyone! I'll try not to take another one. ^^ I told you that I wouldn't stop!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Narrator's POV
Hikitsu stared at Nyan-Nyan. He asked.
I love you Hikitsu. I've loved you for a long time.
Please don't leave me, Hikitsu, she said as she wrapped her arms around his waist in a tight hug. I've waited so long. Now I finally have my chance. Please, stay with me. Stay with me forever.
Nyan-Nyan.... I..... Hikitsu thought deeply. He didn't want to hurt Nyan-Nyan. But he didn't love her back, and he couldn't lie to her. Finally, he said the only thing that he could. I love you too. Nyan-Nyan's face lit up with joy. But not in the same way that you love me. Nyan-Nyan, I'm sorry but..... My heart already belongs to another. I love you... But only as a sister. There. he had done it. He had told her the truth. But in doing so, he had crushed her heart. Please forgive me, Nyan-Nyan,' he thought. But Nyan-Nyan didn't say anything. She simply stood and floated out of the room.
No one came in after Nyan-Nyan left and Hikitsu was left alone with his thoughts. He thought about many things.
His family and old friends, now long gone.
Sora.
Takiko.
Tomite.
Hatsui.
Namame.
Iname.
Umiyame.
The emperor.
Kuro.
Namame's parents.
Taiitsukun.
Nyan-Nyan.
Suzaku.
Byakko.
Seiryuu.
Genbu.
Uruki's grandfather.
All the brave Hokkan soldiers who had fought and died for their country.
He thought of all these people, whether they be big or small. Each of them had helped himself and the other Genbu Seishi on their quest, in their own way. But mostly, more than any of those other things, he thought of Uruki. Oh, how he regretted not being able to say the one thing that mattered the most in his final moments. How he wished that he could have forced out those last two words. Well, he got out a bit of the second to last one, but he wasn't able to finish it....
Hikitsu sat there for what seemed like an eternity, but in reality was only a few hours. After that, he was joined by someone who he didn't expect.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tomite's POV
Slowly, I opened my eyes.
Wait. How did I do that? I was dead... wasn't I?
I sat up. I was in a room. Hikitsu knelt on the floor a ways away from me, his head bent. Wait.... Hikitsu? He was dead. I'd watched him die! But... Even if he hadn't died, something was wrong... He was... I could... See through him. But... How? How was that possible? I mean, I couldn't see through him very well, but I definitely could.
Hikitsu turned quickly. I think that I took him by surprise, but you can never be sure with him. Genbu, does that man ever show any emotions?
What are you doing here? He asked.
I could ask you the same thing. You're supposed to be dead!
Yes. This is the place where the dead go.
Ah... No wonder.
But... You can?t be...
Sorry, Hikitsu. I died just a few hours after you did.
But... how....
And so I told him. I told him about how Namame and I had been trapped. How I had convinced my desperate plan. Everything. I can only hope that Iname got away after I died. If he didn't, he'll be joining us in a few minutes. I finished.
I'm sure that he did. Iname is strong... Very strong, even if he doesn't realize it himself.
Yeah. All of us are. Or, in our case, were strong.
You don't believe that, do you?
Of course I do. It's true, isn't it?
Yes. But I can tell that you don't believe it. You don't think that you're strong, do you? I paused for a long time. It was true. I was weak. And even Hikitsu could see it.
No. I'm weak. But the rest of you are strong, and that's what really matters.
He said this so forcefully that I jumped. Hikitsu never talked like that! He never showed his emotions! How can you think that when you've proven yourself more than any of us? You've shown again and again that your stronger that all of us! You've saved Takiko more than any of us. Heck, you've saved all of us at some time or another.
So how could you think that you're weak?
Do... Do you remember when Kutou first attacked.
There was a pause before he said,
I promised her... I promised Takiko that I wouldn't die before she could say goodbye. I broke that promise today. She wasn't there when I died. It was just me and Iname. I can't even begin to imagine what she's going through right now. I've never broken a promise... until now. Until I broke the most important one.
Once again, there was a very long pause before he spoke again.
Tomite, you are strong. Very strong. I... I also promised Takiko that... But I didn't keep it either. And... You were – no... are – not only strong, you were brave.
You're bra--
Hikitsu interrupted. You could tell the one that you love how you felt. I may be strong physically. I may be able to fight better than most. I may be able to charge into a battle without a second thought. But I still have much to learn.
Hikitsu... You idiot. You're smarter than me. I still have much to learn from you. You will always be a better fighter than me.
Maybe so. But you will probably always be a better person that me
I do not have to learn about fighting. I still have much to learn in matters of the heart. You were able to tell Takiko how you felt about her. For that, I have always envied you.
You.... Envied me.
Yes, Tomite. You're always so open. You can always show just how your feeing. I have never been able to do that. Not since... Sora died. I forced myself to think that I had gotten over her. But I really did so only recently. I did so by falling in love with another. But even in the end, I wasn't able to tell her just how much I love her.
*Ahem*
We both turned. In the doorway, stood Taiitsukun and the four beast gods.
Forgive me for interrupting your little chat. Welcome, Tomite. We have much to talk about.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~End of chapter 42~
I like this chapter. I really have no idea why. But even after I decided that my break was over, it took me forever to write this. Hee hee. Man. I'd better wrap up this fic soon. It's already 42 chapters! I'm trying, everyone! But there's a of loose ends to tie up! Sorry. Well, more coming soon. Please review!
