Author's notes: Hello everybody! I know it's been a crazy few months, but ahead of you lies the final chapter of Vengeance, part two of this Fushigi Yuugi epic. I said it would be finished this summer, and procrastinator that I am, cut it pretty close, but I made it. I would like to thank everybody for reading and let you know a few things. Firstly, thank you so much to those who gave such thorough reviews, especially Alcestis, Cyber Keiko, and KittyLynne. I appreciate your feedback. Secondly, I know this seems like it ended rather abruptly, and yes, it is unresolved. You have not heard the last from Tenkou and his cronies, or even of Nifei. All questions unanswered will be resolved in part three. Finally, and most importantly, I hope you enjoyed the story and please, let me know what you thought!

Gwen

And now, the conclusion of Vengeance:

Chapter Sixteen – End Game

"Miaka, wake up," Nakago said to her faintly, from his mind to hers. He knew this had to stop. He would not be controlled by this demon and he wouldn't allow it to do whatever it wanted with his Miaka.

Nakago paused in thought. Had he really just referred to her as his?

"Nakago, no!" she pushed at him uselessly. "I said stop! I don't know what we did before, but I'm not doing it again, you know I'm waiting! Stop!" she shrieked as he removed the last of her clothing.

"Miaka, wake up," she heard the voice, familiar, but so different from the one coming from above her.

"Nakago?" she whispered, looking past the man atop her.

"Look away from the eyes," he said. "He is trapping you with his eyes."

Miaka looked up suddenly, past the facade of Nakago's handsome face and beautiful body, past the bedroom, past the illusion, and straight into the red eyes of the demon. "I SAID NO!" she shrieked, expelling an enormous blast of energy from her body. The man covered his face as debris from broken glass and furniture flew from all around her and the illusion was broken. Miaka continued screaming, sending the demon flying off of her.

Nakago pulled one last time at the binds on his arms and was finally freed. He jumped up, grabbing his sword from the wall and moving to the demon, who was laying, sprawled on the floor, cursing angrily.

Miaka sat up, pulling on her clothes, and then went over to Nifei's dead body. She held back a deep sob and closed the woman's eyes. "It's about time," she heard snidely from Nakago. She looked over to see Nakago, his weapon pointed at the demon's throat.

"Well, I had the ugliest thing I'd ever seen on me!" she shouted back at him, crossing her arms. "I couldn't believe such ugliness existed. And then I woke up and found that it was a demon and not you! Imagine my relief..."

Nakago smirked. She was fine. "Now, my friend," he said to the demon. "I think it is time for you to die."

The demon actually smiled, and then he began to laugh, a cruel, cold laugh. The pitch was high and piercing and caused Nakago to wince. The demon suddenly transformed, becoming less solid, less like a man, and then he shrieked and hurtled himself at Nakago. Miaka was thrown back by the sheer power being expelled by the two forces. Nakago grinned, feeling a feral rush overtake him. A real battle, at last. The demon lunged at the Seiryu no Seishi and it had begun.

Miaka, who had been knocked back against the wall with windows, sat up and looked outside. She saw what had to be a few hundred pirates on the deck, waving down their flagships. They seemed to be in a big hurry. Maybe it was because the power of Nakago and the demon's power seemed to be rocking the boat, she mused.

Nakago and the demon were at a stand off. The demon was using a blade that was simply an extension of its own body, and Nakago was using the sword he had pilfered from the captain's office. They clashed again and again, Nakago's blonde hair blowing away from his face with the strength of his chi. Miaka didn't even have to ask to know what had happened: somehow, his power had been released; all their power had been released, and the bright blue symbol of kokoro was beaming on his forehead like a beacon in the dim room. The miko saw his beautiful face. His brows were drawn tightly, eyes narrow, pupils as pinpoints. His lips were drawn back in a permanent snarl. He was furious, and she was shocked to realize that he was furious on her account. The demon had compromised her dignity intensely and Nakago was getting revenge.

"You will die," the demon said to Nakago. "One way or another you will die, and you will lose what is precious to you."

Nakago growled darkly and thrust his sword forward, slashing at the man's bodiless soul. The demon laughed and simply reformed. It was obvious to Miaka that fighting an enemy without a body was not the easiest thing to do. He couldn't risk unleashing his full power lest the boat sink, but he couldn't let the demon get away.

The demon crashed down in a cloud upon Nakago, engulfing him. Nakago growled deeply and expelled a huge blue wave of energy from his body, sending the demon realing. The bodiless form seemed to lurch, panting. Nakago was stronger, but he was also tiring. After releasing so many large bursts of energy, he was breathing hard, though determined as ever.

Miaka looked between the two. She noticed that he seemed to be guarding very carefully his eyes. Whenever the shogun reached forward to swipe at his face, the demon recoiled and reformed. Hadn't his eyes been the force that hypnotized her?

"Nakago!" Miaka cried suddenly, disbelieving that she had noticed, for once, something he hadn't. "His eyes!"

"Yes, I know, don't look at them. Again you show your talent for pointing out the obvious!" he snapped.

"No, you ass," she rolled her eyes. "He's protecting them. Go for the eyes!"

Nakago watched his movements, and sure enough, the demon was protecting his eyes. He grudgingly admitted that she was correct and put the demon on the defensive by repeatedly attacking his face.

"You bitch," the demon snarled and shot a huge burst of energy at Miaka.

The miko screamed as a huge blast flew toward her. Nakago glanced in the time it would take for a heart to beat, from Miaka to the demon. He saw his opening and, willfully ignoring Miaka's scream, trust his fingers into the man's blood red eyes. The demon screamed deafeningly and slunk away, weeping and gnashing its teeth.

"You... you blinded me... you took my power... How... how dare you!"

"Death comes from above, demon," Nakago said coldly, staring down at the lowly creature. However, just as he was about to thrust his sword, infused with his cerulean chi, into the demon's bodiless form, a hapless soldier ran into the room.

"Sir, I have it! The troops are retreating! We have the item!"

The demon beast grinned and suddenly formed like an arrowhead above the room, and thrust his essence into the young pirate. The man shuddered and gasped, eyes turning red briefly, and then dark, deep black once again. The man laughed, grasping the item. "I have it! I have it, finally! It is almost complete!"

Before Nakago could react, he heard a soft groan from Miaka. She had taken the brunt of the blast and was all right, if a little crisp around the edges but in the second it took for him to glance to the Miko, the man leaped out the window and to the deck, making it to the ship. It took seconds for them to cast away, and the demon was gone.

The Seiryu no Seishi's power died away, his longish blonde hair falling back around his face in its usual hapless manner. He went over to Miaka, kneeling down. She was shaking, crying at the pain in her burnt hands. She had used what little power she had left to repel the blast, but it has burnt her hands and arms quite badly.

"It hurts," she cried, shaking, her body going into shock. "Make it stop."

"Be quiet," he said in a teasing tone. "Your voice annoys me to the point of insanity." He took her blistered hands in his own and infused his chi into hers, creating a vaguely purple aura around her. Her wounds began to heal slowly and her sobs of pain died away.

"Nifei is..." she whispered.

"Nifei caused this. She is the one who killed Tamahome, but now she is dead, so it is best to let these things lie with her," Nakago informed the young woman.

Miaka was silent for a few minutes, taking everything in. Had this actually happened? She felt the pain completely subside and Nakago lifted her up, looking around the destroyed room. The main power came back on and an announcement came over the intercom telling the people to return to their rooms until things could be sorted out.

"My suite is a crime scene, yours is a disaster..." the blonde chuckled.

"Mine's okay, though," a voice said, stepping over the destruction and the remaining soldiers in the hall. It was Muji. "You can stay with me for the duration."

"Muji! You're okay! I thought James, er... whatever he was... killed you!"

He shook his head. "But I think this is a story I need to hear. You can all stay with me under one condition."

"What is that?" Nakago frowned.

"You tell me all about what happened here, and all about what happened in this book you mentioned, Gi-san, or should I be calling you 'Nakago-san?'"

"Gi-san will be just fine," he smirked lightly. "I'm sure as much as Miaka likes to hear herself talk, she'll have no trouble telling you all about her time in the book."

"Nakago!" she hissed. "Should you be telling people about that? They'll have me committed!"

"One can only hope," he smirked more fully and carried her to Muji's room.

The trio arrived in the little cellar-like room. Nakago set the Miko on her feet and appraised the room. "We should call Yui and fill her in," Miaka decided. "Is it okay if we use your phone, Muji-kun?" she questioned, smiling cutely.

"It's fine," he said cheerfully, honestly just glad to be alive. "Please, sit down," he said to Nakago, going to get some bandages for the spectacular array of cuts he had managed to obtain.

Miaka finally got through to Yui and was immediately bombarded with a slew of questions and rambling that made her head spin. "You do this!" she thrust the phone in Nakago's face. He calmly took it.

"Nakago?" Yui asked, puzzlement quite evident in her tone. "You're alive?"

"I am touched to hear the relief in your voice," he said dryly.

"What happened?" she ignored his cynicism and pushed onward.

Nakago explained the gist of the tale and left the rest for her to deduce on her own, hanging up. Miaka sat down beside him and began absently bandaging him. Nakago watched her passively, blue eyes wandering her slim form. He decided he wanted her as he watched her work with determination for the sole purpose of making him comfortable. This woman had gone from the most hated enemy to the thing nearest and dearest to him and after having gone through hell to keep her safe, twice, he decided that she was definitely a worthy investment.

At least, that's what he tried to tell himself. In reality, he had never cared for any person as much as he cared for her. Before knowing her he had really cared only for himself. He had managed to lead a productive life, generally keeping out of any serious trouble, but also without much of interest. Now, however, he knew that while she was 'a worthy investment,' he also knew that he had never needed anything as much as he needed her to simply be with him. Without warning, Nakago pulled the woman into his lap and kissed her deeply, pinning her down to the couch. His cool eyes stared into hers and she looked back up at him, confused. A ghost of a smile touched his lips – as much as he would ever dare show with Muji mere feet away – and he kissed her again, and then released her.

"What was that for?" Miaka asked, blushing and sitting up.

"Nothing..." he said quietly and then changed his mind. "For rescuing me."

"Rescuing, but you..." she looked over at him, and then realized the weight of what he said and decided now was a good time to finish bandaging his wounds. "I see."

No more words were said. Muji let the two stay in his room that night, and the trip that deposited them back on the banks of Tokyo Bay were uneventful.

Miaka thanked Muji and made sure to get his contact information so they could keep in touch, and then he smiled and left them to tend to his duties. Miaka and Nakago stood on the deck, waiting for the crew to drop anchor and allow passengers to again stand on dry land. The night was cool and starry, clear and just far enough from Tokyo's lights that the shimmering stars could be enjoyed.

"This has been an interesting cruise, has it not?" the blonde asked conversationally, his gaze shifting to her. He continually failed to keep his defenses up with her, so finally just gave up and put his arm around her, looking down at her with a softness that shocked her into silence.

Miaka nodded dumbly, staring up at that expression, so foreign on the usually hard features, but so beautiful. She couldn't believe the twisting events that had led them to this point. She had first met him, a handsome foreigner, at the gates of Kutou. She had soon discovered that he was her enemy. She had loved Tamahome – Tamahome who had killed Nakago – and had soon after come to regard Nakago as a friend. After the unexpected death of her love, at the equally unexpected hands of her friend Nifei, she had discovered that while Tamahome would always be her first love, Nakago had turned out to be a far deeper love.

There was an innate difference in the two types of love. Tamahome had always loved her, and she him, but their love had been pure, innocent, and in some ways, very child like. She had had attraction, but she hadn't truly and simply known. She hadn't known of his mother, he hadn't known of her father. They had a mutual companionship that would have made for a comfortable, usual marriage. With Nakago, who she had finally admitted she loved, it was much deeper. There was passion and lust, but with underlying concern. She knew of the most painful events of his life; and of his death. She knew of the breaking of his dignity and pure, little boyish spirit, and she knew of the second breaking that took place when he died. He knew of the facade that was her equivalent to Chichiri's happy mask, and he not only knew, but he knew why; the real reason why. Most of all, though, there was the desperate need. He needed her lightness, her softness, and she needed his darkness; his passion.

She closed her eyes. All this revelation from a simple cruise. The irony of it all amazed her. She couldn't even begin to think about all that Nakago told her about what Yui, Tetsuya, and her brother had discovered. The whole mess with Nifei was something she only hoped to move away from. Secretly, though, she couldn't help admitting that without Nifei, she and Nakago might not have realized what they had between each other. The intricate tapestry of fate was apparent.

"I think Taiitsukun planned this," Nakago said in an annoyed voice, interrupting the Miko's thoughts. "She seems to enjoy making my life miserable. Look what she's done putting me with you. I don't know how she sleeps at night."

"I got the worse end of the deal," she mumbled somewhat sleepily, though her dancing eyes betrayed the slurred words. "I have to put up with the man who is his own greatest fan. Woe is me," she sighed dramatically.

Nakago released her from his grasp, putting his hands in his pockets, staring out intensely into the sea again.

Miaka smiled and leaned against the railing. "It was definitely fate."

He didn't need to speak or nod for her to know he agreed.

"You are going to marry me next summer."

Miaka whirred around, staring at him.

"You will wear white, I will wear black. The rest is up to you."

The young woman floundered for a few moments, utterly baffled. Had he just proposed to her? He had actually sort of demanded a wedding from her, so her first instinct was to growl for a moment, thinking of something rude to say, but finally she conceded and grinned hugely. She jumped into his arms, large, innocent eyes twinkling, crying tears of joy. She kissed him. "Yes!" she exclaimed and then calmed herself, clearing her throat in a business like way. "Yes, I accept. But..."

He lifted an eyebrow in curiosity, wondering at her terms.

"Only if our honeymoon isn't a cruise."

Nakago laughed. Laughed. And Miaka laughed happily, and the passengers returned to their homes, and the adventure had come to a close, though they both knew in their hearts that the adventure had only begun.

The End

(for now)