FUSHIGI YUUGI: THE CONTINUING CONTINUED CONTINUATION
Written by: Chiharu Kamoshiro
Disclaimer: I do not own Fushigi Yuugi or any of its characters, despite my fantasies of having Nuriko hand-cuffed to my bed and waiting for me to get home. Don't sue me, though I do have a lot of lint going around if you want that. I do, however, own the original characters. For fantasizing rights on them, please email me at Thank You.
Chapter 1: A New Narrator: Let the Story Begin
Oushige Hachiro pushed open the doors of the tall apartment building after receiving what he called "the buzz of approval" from one of the tenants. He walked coolly through the foyer and hit the up-pointing arrow button for the elevator. Luckily it only took a moment for the doors to open, the lift being empty. He stepped it and casually poked the "6," watching the silvery doors shut and the elevator heave upwards.
Hachiro lifted the strap of his black guitar case off his shoulder for a moment and rolled the joint back, replacing the strap and leaning against the back wall. The elevator stopped at the third floor, a middle-aged couple stepping onboard and hitting another button. Even when leaning back, Hachiro was notably taller than both the other passengers, having been blessed with height despite his being Japanese. Finally the door opened to his desired floor, and he stepped out, striding down the hall until he hit apartment 6-04. He knocked.
"It's open." Came the male reply within.
Hachiro tried the knob and turned it easily, stepping into the apartment. It opened up to a hallway that turned immediately left, then lead into a large room, the first portion a living room, the side a kitchenette, and the rest leading to a closed door that was the one bedroom. The apartment was being lit almost entirely by natural light--though the blinds weren't up all the way--and a lamp lit in the corner. A second, black-haired man sat on a loveseat facing a window, his attention drawn on something Hachiro couldn't see.
"Yo Kazuki, what's so great that I had to come all the way down here?" Hachiro asked, walking in and casually dropping his guitar onto the sofa in front of the T.V. "The game's not on until next week."
"I've discovered something rather interesting that I wanted your help with." Kazuki said, finally passing a brown eye towards his friend. "It's a story."
Hachiro rolled his eyes, walking more into the apartment. He scratched the back of his head where his brown hair budded into a short tail. "Another one, Kazuki? You haven't finished the last one you started, that sci-fi thing about cloning, right?"
"This genre leads a bit more towards fantasy, actually, and most of it writes itself." Kazuki explained in what sounded like riddles to his younger friend.
Hachiro finally made his way to the loveseat and spotted a worn, red-tinted book in his friend's hands. "Where'd you get that, garage sale?"
"The library was having a book sale the week before last, when it sells the books that don't get used or checked out and uses the money to buy updated ones." Kazuki spoke, "This one didn't get sold, and while I was re-shelving the rejects in the back after closing, it caught my eye. Most of it's in Chinese Kanji, though. I could only make out bits and pieces of it, but I got the idea of the story down."
Hachiro slumped into a recliner. "Oh yeah? And what is it?"
"It's the story of a girl from another realm, and she ends up in this place. Anyway, there's some sort of god she has to bring forth to get three wishes, and she has to find seven gifted people with kanji on their bodies in order to get the wishes."
"Uh-huh." Hachiro humored him. He could tell Kazuki couldn't read everything, with how undetailed the summary was.
"I think there is another girl, and she has to do the same. Basically it ends up in a war, and the two girls go home." Kazuki finished.
"So you want to make a new story based off that?" Hachiro asked. He wasn't much for fantasy, the only thing he usually read were magazines and sheet music.
"Hold on, there's a twist." Kazuki added, smirking. "I read all that in two days, about, and I closed the book and went out for a while. When I got back, I opened it again, but the story had changed."
"Changed?" Hachiro asked, a bit more interest going into the speech. "What do ya mean?"
"I mean that every page of the book had written itself differently, like someone had broken in, erased the ink, and changed the entire plot line. The characters were the same, but it went on and on about reincarnation and a devil who wanted to be a god. I only skimmed through it, reached the end, and closed it. Out of curiosity, I flipped it over, and the story had changed again."
Hachiro laughed. "You telling me that this piece of junk is the never-ending story?"
Kazuki ignored the comment. "I stay up all night, trying to figure it out. The next story had the same characters again, only several of them were children, and there were two priestesses of that god, some kind of bird. I reached the end, closed the book, and it started over again when I opened it."
"You're a broken record." Hachiro complained. "Do I have to sit here and listen to millions of these two-second tales of yours?"
"Will you just be patient?" Kazuki snapped. "Anyway, this time the evil guys from the first story..."
"There were evil guys in the first story?" Hachiro asked.
"Yes." Kazuki quickly answered. "They came back, and I guess there was a third god, because when I scanned towards the end, there were more of those people with symbols on their bodies."
"This is too complicated." Hachiro started to rise from his seat.
"Sit." Kazuki firmly instructed.
Hachiro groaned and did so.
"I closed the book, opened it again, and there was nothing. The pages were blank."
"Good." Hachiro joked. "That means I don't have to listen to anymore of it."
Kazuki shook his head and stood, holding the book under his arm and moving to the window. "Do you believe in magic, Hachiro?"
Hachiro was taken back by the question, and knew Kazuki wasn't the kind who was into illegal drugs, so figured his friend was serious. "Not.... really."
"After a few days of pondering, I tried something. I took a pen, and wrote in the book. Nothing happened."
Hachiro opened his mouth to speak, but Kazuki cut him off.
"Later I tried it again, only writing in Kanji. I wrote 'the wealthy woman went to the store.'" Kazuki went on. "You see, after that, kanji appeared on the page, as if by magic. I had to look part of it up in a dictionary, but it read something about this woman buying a silk dress, then a small group of bandits coming in and stealing her money. The book stopped there."
"Are you kidding me?" Hachiro laughed, though Kazuki's seriousness was making him uneasy.
"Here's why I decided to share the secret with you, Hachiro. I'm not much for foreign languages, but I know for a fact that you can read Chinese as though you were raised there."
"Yeah... so?"
Kazuki pulled a pen out of his pocket and handed the book to Hachiro, opening it to page two and handing him the pen. Hachiro read the line that lay solitaire on the old paper. It said "And the woman wept for her loss." Hachiro glanced up to see Kazuki holding something else out to him.
"I've translated the names of most the characters and a little about them, from what I could decipher. I think that if we wrote something about them in there, the story might get interesting."
Hachiro looked over the list. "I'll humor you, Kazuki. What do you want me to write?"
"Well, every story that I've read in there starts with someone from what I presume to be this world going into this book."
"The Universe of the Four Gods?" Hachiro read the worn gold lettering on the book's spine.
Kazuki nodded, a mischievous glint in his eye. "If you don't believe me, write for yourself." Kazuki pulled the paper down from Hachiro's hand. "We'll start with the character the book talks about the most, 'Miaka.' Do something with her."
xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx
"And his coworker was so disgusting with just the appetizer I thought I was going to hurl!" Yui laughed, brushing a lock of her blonde hair behind her ear, the glimmer of the diamond on her ring finger reflecting mildly off her face.
Miaka laughed. "I feel so bad for you." She heard a loud knocking on the floor below her. "Hikari, hit the blocks, see?" Miaka leaned over and pulled the tray of colored pegs in front of the three year old.
"I did!" Hikari protested.
"I did too!" The younger toddler beside Hikari shouted, raising her tiny hand in the air.
"Good job, Emi." Miaka complimented. She turned the tray over. "There, you can hit them again."
"This is a baby game." Hikari pushed the tray over to Emi, who smiled and started hitting the pegs with the palm of her hand. "I want to call daddy."
"Not now, he's at work." Miaka said patiently. She stood up off the sofa and picked up the tray of empty tea cups off the coffee table. "Yui-chan, do you want something to eat? There's cake." Miaka questioned as she headed into the kitchen.
Yui shook her head. "No thanks."
"I want cake!" Emi shouted.
Yui smiled and brushed the toddler's short sandy locks with the tips of her fingers. "I think you've had enough sugar today." Yui relaxed into the plush coushins behind her. "Ne Miaka, you know that new shop that..."
Something crashed in the kitchen.
"Miaka?" Yui sprang up from the couch and quickly ran to the other room to see what was wrong. She found Miaka frozen in place, the tray and teacups scattered on the floor.
"Miaka?" She asked again, placing her hands on the redhead's shoulders. "Doushite no?"
Miaka lifted her finger and pointed to the cupboards. "Yui.... look..." she whispered.
Yui turned her head to see, and her eyes widened. On the cabinet was the kanji for "book," shining in red as though a spot light was aimed at it. Yui only got a glimpse of the mark before it faded away.
"What was that?" Yui asked. She released Miaka and moved to the cabinet, running her hand over the smooth wood. "Weird..."
Miaka watched her best friend examine the cupboard door carefully, afraid something might jump out at her. Her eyes caught another bit of red light, and she glanced down to see it growing under her feet.
"AAH! Yui!!" She screamed, running towards the taller girl. The circle beneath her feet followed her.
"Miaka!" Yui gasped, not believing her eyes. Not again... not this again!
Miaka grabbed onto Yui's arms, the light surrounding her as she did.
"Hold on!" Yui shouted, gripping Miaka's wrists best she could. She felt the flesh and bone in her hands shrink and turn into nothing.
"No!" Yui shouted, shoving her hands into the light. She heard the faint call of a bird, but felt nothing, and the light disappeared.
Yui shook her head in terror, stepping back. "Mia... ka..." Her hands shook.
"Mom?" Hikari called from the living room.
Yui shook her head and darted across the kitchen, snatching the phone off its holder by the table and dialing as fast as her fingers would go.
"Please pick up..." She prayed, tears forming in her eyes. "Please... please pick up..."
--- --- --- --- ---
Ring....
Ring...
Ring....
"Hello and thank you for calling Sony Broadband Incorporations, you have reached the office of Kajiwara Tetsuya."
"Saori!" Yui yelled into the phone. "Put Tetsuya on the line!"
"Y-Yui?" Tetsuya's secretary, Saori Kawai spoke into the phone. "He's not in the building right now... What's wrong? Something with Emi?" Saori sounded worried.
"Iie.." Yui sniffed. "Miaka... she's gone."
"Where is she?" Saori asked.
Yui suddenly became panicked again. "We were in the kitchen, and the kanji for 'book' appeared on the cabinet, and she disappeared! It was the red light, Saori, she has to be back in that book!"
Saori's grip on the hand-held loosened, and she didn't speak. Back into the book, the Universe of the Four Gods? It had been so long... everything had been solved, right?
"Are... you sure?" Saori questioned.
"Yes, there's no other explanation!" Yui stumbled over her thoughts. "I need to call Taka... where's that number..."
"Mayo..." Saori whispered. "Yui-kun, call Taka, I need to call Mayo! What if she's gone too?"
Yui tried to think straight. "Okay, go." Yui hung up without saying goodbye.
Saori switched to the second line on the phone and quickly dialed Mayo's phone number, her hand shaking. "Mayo-chan... please be alright..."
xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx
Miaka quickly stepped out of the way of a rolling handcart full of melons to avoid being run over. She stared about her surroundings, the townsfolk nearby staring at her.
"K-Konan?" Miaka breathed, in shock. "I'm... back? But how...?" This had happened to Miaka so many times, she was surprised she still asked that. Usually the book was there... she did get passage here once by just the appearance of red light, but...
She saw two women across the street whisper about her, noticing her strange clothing. Miaka turned away and shivered. "Taka's not here with me this time..."
Miaka started walking down the street, looking around in confusion. She was so much more an adult now than she had been when she first found the book, but she was still nervous. She knew about the dark alleys and thieves, even in a place like Konan. There was no way to remain inconspicuous either. Her mother had always told her to stay where she was until someone found her, but... who would? None of the faces were familiar, obviously. And how much time had passed in the book? She had no sure way of knowing... what if there was no one here who would know her?
Miaka continued down the dirt road, passing market beyond market, only hearing one call (for jewelry) aimed at her. She kept her head slightly down, darting her eyes into every nook and cranny, every shop and store. If she was lucky, perhaps she run into a kind palace guard who would know of her, and take her to the palace where hopefully, Hotohori would be.
Then Miaka stopped, the street turning to junction with another full of marketing. A little ways past that intersection was a smaller road, one that lead down a hill to a similar path horizontal to where she was standing. A spark of hope lit up in her heart. She didn't know why, but that path looked familiar. Checking both ways to be sure she wasn't mowed over again, Miaka crossed the road and headed down the hill.
She reached the bottom without any trouble, and scanned the desolate street. She recognized it, which meant she must have traveled it on one of her previous visits to the strange land. Was it one she took often, or one that she took once and something had stood out to her?
Nothing was special about it, so the latter could be false. It was just lined with half-dried grasses and trees, paved with the same tan dirt and pebbles and cart tracks that every street had. Getting angry at herself for not remembering, she started walking down the length of it one way, trying to recall her memory. She didn't get too far until she reached an area of the path where the border trees curved in a bit, making the hunk of random forest in the back thicker and forming a small grove for the grass. Miaka closed her eyes and searched her memory, trying to jumble threw the glossary of thoughts.
She saw a snake lunge for her, the glimmer of fire...
Her eyes sparked open, a smile on her face. "I remember!" She shouted. She looked around, glad to see no one was nearby to hear her. "I remember riding down this path once a horse, with Tasuki!" She looked down the road. "Where were we going... no, we never got there, I don't think, he got injured, and..."
The memory jewels, Taka's memory jewels. They had been looking for Nuriko's, and the shrine was down this way.
Miaka turned and looked down the way she had come. "This path lead from Nuriko's house to the shrine." She lit up more. "I must be in the capitol!" Miaka was ecstatic that she knew where she was and wouldn't have to wander for hours... or even days... before getting help. She took off at a light sprint down the path, hoping her shaded sense of direction was right.
Of course, the path was much longer than she had hoped, and ended up going down to just a walk, passing by a farmer with a cart full of hay as she went. After twenty or so minutes of walking, Miaka saw that the path up ahead branched off into three, one going out into more plains, one leading into more forest... and going straight the path widened and lined with houses and more shops.
She took a large breath, trying to calm her nerves. "Oh please let me be right..." she quietly prayed. She stuck to her path, gradually walking by the intersection and into another bustling array of Konan citizens.
"I would never pay that much for a simple Salmon." A young man argued with a butcher. "I may as well catch one myself."
"I'll lower the price six ryo, and if that ain't good enough, I suggest ya get yer pole out!" The butcher snapped back.
Miaka scurried past the shoppers, the surrounding area becoming unrecognizable again. Couldn't Nuriko be out in the stores or something?
No sign of purple hair anywhere. Miaka's shoulders slumped. She had to ask for directions...
"Let's see..." Miaka spoke quietly to herself. "Nuriko's real name was... Ryuuen, right? His last name was... Kou? No, that's not it..."
Miaka saw a violet butterfly flap by her nose.
"Chou!" She announced, getting a few heads to turn her way. "Arigatou!" She said to the bug. She glanced at the people around her, trying to decide which would be best to ask. She saw a young couple walking across the street, opposite of where she was going. She crossed the road again and emerged in front of them.
"Sumimasen..." She quickly bowed. "Demo... do you know where I could find the Chou residence?"
The tall man scanned Miaka and seemed surprised at her attire, but he smiled. "Yes, Miss." He turned and pointed down the road. "His residence is down this way, there's a red house where you turn. Keep going straight, it's a long ways down there, but you shouldn't miss it. It's a large property, after all."
Miaka bowed again, glad for some hospitality. "Arigatou gozaimasu." She said.
"Dou itashimashite."
Just for insurance, Miaka bowed to the couple one more time and headed down the road until she reached a red house, then turned left, seeing how it was the only way to go besides straight. She walked into an area full of just houses, no shops or anything. Her hair was starting to burn a bit from the sun and her stomach growled... hopefully Nuriko would have something to eat.
Miaka walked for what seemed to be eternity when she reached the house, seeing a few servants in the expanse of the yard doing some gardening. She brushed her hair back and stepped onto the property, taking the path to the doorway. To her relief, none of the workmen noticed her, or if they did, they didn't bother her.
She lifted a hand and knocked firmly on the door. Another stranger answered.
"Hai?" the unknown woman asked, opening the door a bit.
"Uh..." Miaka stuttered, "Is Nur... um, Ryu..."
"Priestess?" A voice came from behind. Miaka tried to peek in to see who it was.
"Domo, Mai, you may leave." The man took the door and let the servant go back into the house. Miaka sighed with relief. It was Rokou. She knew his face, though he had aged a bit from what she remembered.
"Rokou-san," Miaka spoke with more confidence. "Is Nuriko here?"
"Ryuuen?" Rokou said. He smiled. "I wish he were, priestess."
Miaka's heart froze. Did Nuriko.... he didn't....
"He moved out about a year ago."
Miaka nearly fell over on the porch. She smiled stupidly. "Moved out?"
Rokou nodded. "He still lives nearby, about a 25 minute walk from here. Would you like directions?"
"...Hai...."
Rokou kindly let Miaka in, the redhead awkwardly standing close to the door as Rokou fetched a pen and paper from a very nice drawer in the corner of the furnished room. He drew a small map and made a single arrow.
"You go down this rode and turn right, and there's a fork in the road. If you go left, you'll pass several crop fields, but keep going and you'll reach several places of residence. My brother's home isn't too far from here, there's a path by a creek, and if you follow that, you'll see a white house, he lives there." Rokou looked at Miaka's face. "I could lend you a carriage, if you wish."
Miaka shook her hands. "Oh no, you're fine! I know what you're talking about, and I could use the exercise." Miaka didn't want to be a burden, and she felt silly enough as it was. She took the map and thanked Rokou, bowing before the servant girl, Mai, who stepped in again to show her out.
It may have taken 25 minutes to get there, but Miaka had to stop several times and check the map, having to turn around at one point and retrace her steps. The residential area she was in was a lot more complicated than Rokou had made it sound. Miaka found a white house, but didn't remember following any stream, so she just watched it for a while, hoping Nuriko would come out. No luck. After 25 minutes of pure searching, Miaka did find a small path shaded by trees off to the side of one of the many roads, and she went down that, grateful for the relief from the sun. She saw a little stream flowing several feet off. She wanted to sit down for a while, but wouldn't give up. She kept going down, and much to her surprise and relief, a large white house was the first one she saw. She pondered the idea of waiting a bit to see if Nuriko came out of this one, but she couldn't. She was too hungry.
Miaka walked up to the house cautiously, noticing that it didn't have gates like Rokou's, but did have a nice flower bed. She stepped up onto the porch and knocked on the door. If it was a stranger, she'd ask for more directions and get a bun off him, or something.
She waited, but there was no answer. Was this the right house? Was Nuriko gone? Miaka grumbled. She'd knock one more time, and if nothing happened, she'd probably find a shady spot to cry.
Before her second knock though, the knob turned ad the door opened. Miaka found herself face to face with a blue robe, and...
"Mi... Miaka?!" Nuriko gasped, his wide salmon-colored eyes staring at her.
Miaka's body relaxed, and she smiled to see her old friend. "Konnichi wa...." She said tiredly.
Nuriko stepped onto the porch and threw his arms around Miaka, giving her a hug so tight Miaka thought her bones would break.
He released her and took a look at her. "Miaka! What are you doing back here?!" He asked with an excited smile.
Miaka got a little teary eyed, but just hugged Nuriko again. "I don't know how I got back here, I've been looking everywhere for you! I had to find my way to your old house, but you weren't there, and then..."
Nuriko pulled her away and studied her again. "I really didn't think I'd see you again, Miaka!" He looked around her. "Where's Tama?"
Miaka shook her head. "He's not with me... I don't know what's going on, Nuriko..."
Nuriko patted her shoulder, and got a stomach growl in response. He sweat dropped. "Same old Miaka..."
"Heh... Heh..." Miaka tweaked her head to one side. "Gomen ne..."
Nuriko took her wrist and pulled her into the house, letting go to close the door behind him. His home entered into a large hallway, a few doors on its side to lead into rooms, the floors and walls paneled with smooth cherry wood.
"This is really a surprise..." Nuriko said, leading a step in front of Miaka. "I'll get you something to eat, then tell me everything that happened, okay?"
Miaka nodded. "Thanks, Nuriko."
The two reached the end of the hallway, seeing it open up into a large room, a table and pillows on the floor for dining, an oriental oil lamp, everything furnished with cherry or oak finishing. At the other end of the room, however, another person stood, cutting up leeks on a kitchen block. Miaka stopped in her footing, not expecting anyone else to be there.
"Nuriko..." She asked the man in front of her silently, "Who's that?"
Nuriko glanced at Miaka, then looked to see who she was looking at. "Oh, Miaka, meet Seii."
"....My wife."