Disclaimer: I still don't own Fushigi Yuugi!
Author's Note: Okies! As promised, another chappie posted in a day! Go me! Hopefully I'll get more reviews ^^. Umm.yeah.nothing else to say. *sniff* I'm not really even hyper! I can't believe it. The only thing weird I'm doing is practicing trumpet. Why is this weird, you ask? Well, because I really play the clarinet. Um.yeah, long story.^^ Anyway, here's chappie 4!
Chapter 4: Ponderings and Explanations
Cue in to Tamahome sitting at a bar, drunk and sulking that he couldn't get any girls. OK, now back to the /real/ story.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Meanwhile, Nuriko was having his own 'moral/ethical pondering time', wondering what would be right and wrong in this situation, and, ultimately, what he should do.
Nuriko felt he was Miaka's best friend in this time, and he wanted to help her and make her happy. If that meant helping her get Tamahome back when he messed things up, so be it, but personally, he thought that she deserved someone better, someone who wouldn't be mean to her or ignore her. Someone who understood her (even a /little/ more than Tamahome did); someone like him. He was better friends with her than even Hotohori was, and Miaka always confided in /Him/, not Hotohori. He was glad to help her with her relationships, but he was finding that he wanted a relationship for himself. Hotohori wasn't responding-he loved Miaka, besides, he was thinking that maybe that wasn't what he wanted, anymore.
He'd kept his eyes open when they were traveling (discreetly, of course, since everyone else thought he was G-A-Y, gay, in capital letters,), but he hadn't seen anyone that interested him-man or woman. Yet he always found himself coming back and analyzing Miaka and Tamahome's relationship. In the beginning, it was to keep an eye out for Miaka (that was how he knew when something was wrong-he watched), but slowly, he began to analyze it from the perspective of what /he/ would do, and say, and comparing it to what Tamahome /did/ say. Not very surprisingly, Nuriko had found that, from his vantage point of the relationship, Tamahome didn't always treat Miaka very well, and he knew she deserved better. After that, he had gone even more out of his way to do his part to help Miaka stay happy, which usually included talking to her after Tamahome was a jerk to her, and helping her however he could. He felt good doing his part, but he wanted more. He couldn't, however, just confess his love for her, like Hotohori, when he knew she couldn't, and wouldn't be able to return his feelings. It was just too hard, so he stood at the sidelines, picking up the pieces and putting them together again.
Nuriko sighed. *Why does life have to be so complicated? I wish it could just work out for everyone.Ah, but since it doesn't, I guess one must just make the best of it.I guess that's why I'll just have to keep to the sidelines.*
Nuriko had just decided to resign himself to a life of loneliness and was deciding what he should do to fill the time, when he heard a timid knock on the door.
Frowning, he got up to see who it could be.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Miaka stood outside Nuriko's door for a few minutes, thinking about everything. When she was ready (or as ready as she would ever be), she timidly knocked on his door. When he opened it, she could see Nuriko's face brighten when he saw who it was. He let her in and closed the door. Turning back to her, he finally noticed that she had her hands full.
"What /is/ all that stuff, Miaka?" he asked.
Miaka looked down at it, then up at Nuriko. "It's my experiment," she said softly.
"Experiment? What for?"
"It was to. test something."
He raised an eyebrow, "So, are you going to tell me what it is?"
Miaka nodded and went over to his desk. She started laying out everything: the broken doll with only Miaka's name on it; and she started to lay down something else, but she stopped, and instead left it in her hand. Turning to Nuriko, she said, "I was thinking about earlier. About how I could help you and I decided to see if there was someone I could help you hook up with." she broke off.
"And?" Nuriko asked, instantly curious to see what she came up with, since he had been thinking about the same thing.
"Well.I was thinking about what I thought you may need or want in a relationship, and for guys, I came up with Hotohori, but he er.doesn't seem to be interested."
She seemed to be stopping so Nuriko said, "And for girls?"
"Well.promise you won't laugh?" he nodded. "Ok. well, I came to the conclusion that I. Well, that I was the only one who probably understood you enough to not be jealous that you're prettier than me, and wouldn't scorn you for liking men too." She broke off and looked at him for a reaction.
He seemed a little shocked, and.was that a little smile playing at the edges of his mouth? He seemed to be off in a daze, so Miaka said, "Nuriko?"
He started and looked at her. Seeing her quizzical glance, he smiled to himself *not yet*, and said, "Ok, so what does the experiment have to do with it?"
"Ah. That. I came up with it after my 'revelation'. I remembered the time when you gave me the love doll for me and Tamahome. Remember how it broke?"
He nodded.
She continued, "Well, at that time, I decided to buy another to try it again, but I never used it, so I decided to.well, for lack of a better term.I decided to test a little theory. Come look and I'll explain it."
He walked over and Miaka pointed at the doll. "See how it's broken?"
"Yes."
"Well, that actually goes with the second part of my experiment."
She lay down the two names in her hand.
Nuriko looked at them. On one paper was his name, and on the other was Tamahome. He still didn't understand exactly. "So?"
Miaka said, "One of the names, I did first, and the doll didn't break. The other, I did next, and the doll broke almost immediately."
He looked at her, "Ok, Miaka, stop beating around the bush. Which is which?"
She stepped in front of him so he couldn't see the names and picked up one. Turning around, she said, "This name is the one I did first. The one that didn't break the doll." Slowly, she opened her hand so he could see the name.
A/N: Hehe! Another cliff-hanger.but ya'll are smart.you've prolly guessed who it is! (If you guess it right in your review, I'll make an extra note in the next chapter!) Whoo.this one's prolly my longest chapter yet! Well, hope ya'll like the story! Please review! ~R.A.
Author's Note: Okies! As promised, another chappie posted in a day! Go me! Hopefully I'll get more reviews ^^. Umm.yeah.nothing else to say. *sniff* I'm not really even hyper! I can't believe it. The only thing weird I'm doing is practicing trumpet. Why is this weird, you ask? Well, because I really play the clarinet. Um.yeah, long story.^^ Anyway, here's chappie 4!
Chapter 4: Ponderings and Explanations
Cue in to Tamahome sitting at a bar, drunk and sulking that he couldn't get any girls. OK, now back to the /real/ story.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Meanwhile, Nuriko was having his own 'moral/ethical pondering time', wondering what would be right and wrong in this situation, and, ultimately, what he should do.
Nuriko felt he was Miaka's best friend in this time, and he wanted to help her and make her happy. If that meant helping her get Tamahome back when he messed things up, so be it, but personally, he thought that she deserved someone better, someone who wouldn't be mean to her or ignore her. Someone who understood her (even a /little/ more than Tamahome did); someone like him. He was better friends with her than even Hotohori was, and Miaka always confided in /Him/, not Hotohori. He was glad to help her with her relationships, but he was finding that he wanted a relationship for himself. Hotohori wasn't responding-he loved Miaka, besides, he was thinking that maybe that wasn't what he wanted, anymore.
He'd kept his eyes open when they were traveling (discreetly, of course, since everyone else thought he was G-A-Y, gay, in capital letters,), but he hadn't seen anyone that interested him-man or woman. Yet he always found himself coming back and analyzing Miaka and Tamahome's relationship. In the beginning, it was to keep an eye out for Miaka (that was how he knew when something was wrong-he watched), but slowly, he began to analyze it from the perspective of what /he/ would do, and say, and comparing it to what Tamahome /did/ say. Not very surprisingly, Nuriko had found that, from his vantage point of the relationship, Tamahome didn't always treat Miaka very well, and he knew she deserved better. After that, he had gone even more out of his way to do his part to help Miaka stay happy, which usually included talking to her after Tamahome was a jerk to her, and helping her however he could. He felt good doing his part, but he wanted more. He couldn't, however, just confess his love for her, like Hotohori, when he knew she couldn't, and wouldn't be able to return his feelings. It was just too hard, so he stood at the sidelines, picking up the pieces and putting them together again.
Nuriko sighed. *Why does life have to be so complicated? I wish it could just work out for everyone.Ah, but since it doesn't, I guess one must just make the best of it.I guess that's why I'll just have to keep to the sidelines.*
Nuriko had just decided to resign himself to a life of loneliness and was deciding what he should do to fill the time, when he heard a timid knock on the door.
Frowning, he got up to see who it could be.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Miaka stood outside Nuriko's door for a few minutes, thinking about everything. When she was ready (or as ready as she would ever be), she timidly knocked on his door. When he opened it, she could see Nuriko's face brighten when he saw who it was. He let her in and closed the door. Turning back to her, he finally noticed that she had her hands full.
"What /is/ all that stuff, Miaka?" he asked.
Miaka looked down at it, then up at Nuriko. "It's my experiment," she said softly.
"Experiment? What for?"
"It was to. test something."
He raised an eyebrow, "So, are you going to tell me what it is?"
Miaka nodded and went over to his desk. She started laying out everything: the broken doll with only Miaka's name on it; and she started to lay down something else, but she stopped, and instead left it in her hand. Turning to Nuriko, she said, "I was thinking about earlier. About how I could help you and I decided to see if there was someone I could help you hook up with." she broke off.
"And?" Nuriko asked, instantly curious to see what she came up with, since he had been thinking about the same thing.
"Well.I was thinking about what I thought you may need or want in a relationship, and for guys, I came up with Hotohori, but he er.doesn't seem to be interested."
She seemed to be stopping so Nuriko said, "And for girls?"
"Well.promise you won't laugh?" he nodded. "Ok. well, I came to the conclusion that I. Well, that I was the only one who probably understood you enough to not be jealous that you're prettier than me, and wouldn't scorn you for liking men too." She broke off and looked at him for a reaction.
He seemed a little shocked, and.was that a little smile playing at the edges of his mouth? He seemed to be off in a daze, so Miaka said, "Nuriko?"
He started and looked at her. Seeing her quizzical glance, he smiled to himself *not yet*, and said, "Ok, so what does the experiment have to do with it?"
"Ah. That. I came up with it after my 'revelation'. I remembered the time when you gave me the love doll for me and Tamahome. Remember how it broke?"
He nodded.
She continued, "Well, at that time, I decided to buy another to try it again, but I never used it, so I decided to.well, for lack of a better term.I decided to test a little theory. Come look and I'll explain it."
He walked over and Miaka pointed at the doll. "See how it's broken?"
"Yes."
"Well, that actually goes with the second part of my experiment."
She lay down the two names in her hand.
Nuriko looked at them. On one paper was his name, and on the other was Tamahome. He still didn't understand exactly. "So?"
Miaka said, "One of the names, I did first, and the doll didn't break. The other, I did next, and the doll broke almost immediately."
He looked at her, "Ok, Miaka, stop beating around the bush. Which is which?"
She stepped in front of him so he couldn't see the names and picked up one. Turning around, she said, "This name is the one I did first. The one that didn't break the doll." Slowly, she opened her hand so he could see the name.
A/N: Hehe! Another cliff-hanger.but ya'll are smart.you've prolly guessed who it is! (If you guess it right in your review, I'll make an extra note in the next chapter!) Whoo.this one's prolly my longest chapter yet! Well, hope ya'll like the story! Please review! ~R.A.