Lonely Angel
Disclaimer: I do not own any bit of this story, Fushigi Yugi belongs to Yuu Watase, and Harry Potter/Hogwarts belongs to J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros.
Author Note: Yay! Another review! Silver Pain, thank you for reading and liking my story! I'm so happy! I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations. And as for an update with my rough draft, it is so far 58 pages in word. But as I said, it's a rough draft, so if you have any ideas about where this story should go, feel free to tell me, and I'll see if I can work it in.
The Third Warrior
Hotohori, Tamahome, and Nozomi were looking at dozens upon dozens of fierce looking palace guards, trying to decide how to figure out if one of these masculine macho men was a member of the Suzaku seven. Tamahome randomly decided that any member of the Suzaku seven would at least be able to hold his own against Tamahome himself, so he went out and tested his skills on the assembled men. Within minutes all were unconscious on the floor. Nozomi was having a hard time not laughing, while Hotohori was desperately trying to resist rolling his eyes. "Our purpose was not to see you show off, Tamahome." At that Nozomi couldn't resist, she did burst out laughing. All eyes turned to her.
"I'm sorry," she said between laughs, "I couldn't help myself, the tone of your voice, and the look on your face was priceless." Hastily getting herself under control, Nozomi spoke again. "Okay, my turn. It's my job to find these people anyway." Before anyone could stop her, she walked forward toward the now conscious warriors. "Alright gentlemen, let's test your skills. Attack me." Only silence greeted her words as the guards stared at her in amazement. Soon, the captain of the bunch spoke up.
"But, Miko-sama, we couldn't possibly attack you."
Nozomi arched an eyebrow. "Really? You were quick enough to point your spears at me yesterday." Immediately the entire assembly was on their knees, begging for forgiveness, and trying to explain their reasoning. "Whoa, it's okay, really, I understand, you were doing your jobs. You did a great job, so you can stand up now. And obviously there are no hard feelings, since I'm asking you to do it again."
"Miko-sama," the same guard pleaded, "we can't harm you, we just can't."
"How many men are present today?" Nozomi asked in a professional manner.
"55, Miko-sama."
"Are you telling me you're scared that one 18 year old girl is going to make a fool of 55 of your most highly trained and skilled guards?" She demanded in a challenging tone. The guard looked shocked at the implication, and stood up tall, with dignity and pride.
"Not at all, Miko-sama."
"Then attack me. Give me an ambush, everyone at once."
"Yes, Miko-sama." The guard said with steel in his voice and eyes. As Nozomi readied herself mentally for the attack, the order was issued for everyone to attack the young priestess. The other men were more than ready for the orders, as they had disliked the insinuations the young girl had made as much as their captain. Though she searched, she could not see any man that did not look angry. In her mind, if she could find the one person who would not attack her even if provoked, that meant she had found a person who felt an instinctive desire to protect her, in other words, the third warrior.
Trained as she was in armed vs. unarmed combat and simultaneous attacks from multiple directions, 55 to 1 soon proved to be odds she hadn't reached the level to handle. The guards closed in on her tighter and tighter, jabbing left and right with their spears, Nozomi was barely able to dodge all of them, but she hadn't been able to separate anyone from their weapon. When she got a little too claustrophobic, she leapt high above them, flipping in the air to land outside the circle of guards.
Trying to keep them from surrounding her like that again, she backed up as she defended. This was working a bit better, she was able to get weapons from some, but as she came under a gazebo that had been in her way, one of the frustrated guards in the back slung his weapon of choice, a sledgehammer, at her. Fortunately for Nozomi, sledgehammers aren't that accurate from that far away, so it didn't hit her. It did hit one of the poles supporting the gazebo, cracking it to little tiny pieces. The gazebo started to collapse, causing Hotohori to shout for Nozomi to move, quickly. She began to obey, but the gazebo gave way, coating everything in a fine cloud of dust. Both Hotohori and Tamahome had dived for her, but guards worried for their safety had prevented them from reaching the girl. When the dust settled, there was no sign of the priestess.
Hotohori rushed to the pile of rubble, starting to move some of the rocks, trying to get to where Nozomi had been standing only seconds before. Guards were instantly trying to pry him away, telling him it was dangerous, but he would hear none of it. Tamahome too, came over to help. Everyone was so absorbed in their efforts to unearth their priestess that no one noticed a handsome woman walk towards them.
"Perhaps you'll let me help with that." She said in a polite, pleasant voice. Without waiting for a response from anyone, she began to toss the largest pieces of rubble from the pile like she would toss clothes from her closet. When the mysterious woman had removed enough rubble to see the floor beneath, all they could see was one of Nozomi's shoes, but no foot inside. Just as they were about to express their confusion, they heard a groan come from the opposite side of the rubble.
Hastening around, Hotohori and Tamahome let out sighs of relief when they saw Nozomi laying there, her left leg still in the rubble, and a great big bump on her head. They hadn't been able to see her before, because the rubble had hidden her from view. She'd obviously been knocked unconscious by a stray chunk, and was now beginning to stir.
Wordlessly, the mysterious woman from before walked around, and began to free the newly discovered Miko. Once that had been accomplished, Hotohori carried her to the palace doctors himself, who had been called to the location out of guilt by the guard who had caused this whole mess.
"What happened?" Nozomi asked in a groggy voice once she had fully regained consciousness.
"You managed to avoid most of the rubble, but your leg got caught, spraining your ankle and breaking your leg, and you got a nasty bump on your head." Hotohori explained gently, while stroking Nozomi's hair. It was softer than he'd expected, it almost felt like silk. Nozomi looked over at the mess that used to be a gazebo. People were surrounding it, which prevented her from doing what she wanted to. On the other hand though, it might be a good idea to ask Hotohori first if she could.
"Would it scare people if I did a little magic right now?" She asked him, her voice getting slightly stronger.
"Probably not, I have explained that it's normal in your world." Hotohori was interested in what she meant to do with her magic. "Are you going to heal your wounds?" he asked.
"No, unfortunately healing magic is one of the things I'm not very good at. If you're not very careful, you could end up removing body parts instead of fixing them, and since I don't have any Skele-gro on me, that's not a very good idea. I'm leaving that to the experts. Could you ask people to move away from the rubble, please?"
Now having a pretty good idea of what Nozomi was going to do, though none at all about what she meant by Skele-gro, Hotohori did what she asked. Pulling out her wand, Nozomi pointed at the rubble and said, "Reparo." Magically, all the rubble seamlessly reattached itself in the correct position, if it wasn't for her own injuries, it would have been like this little incident never happened. Tamahome looked confused for a minute, until he looked over and saw the wand in Nozomi's hand.
"Hey Nozomi, I'm finally seeing the usefulness of magic! That was pretty cool!"
Nozomi laughed as much as she was able. "Thanks Tamahome. It is pretty nice not to have to pay for repairs at home, or have to deal with repairmen." Hotohori noticed her continued weakness and fatigue with concern. He tried to escort her to her room for some rest, but she wouldn't hear anything of it. She wanted to go meet the woman who had moved all that rubble. So instead Hotohori helped her hobble over to the tall woman, now standing regally to the side, looking condescendingly at them all. "I wanted to thank you for saving me. My name is Nozomi Elendi. What's yours?"
The woman looked arrogantly down at her. If she didn't have such a large scowl on her face, she'd be quite beautiful. Long lavender hair most women would kill for, a pretty face, clear complexion except for a small mole under her left eye, and she certainly knew what colors looked good on her, she was impeccably dressed. "I didn't do it for you, you know."
"I would still like to thank you, though, for whatever reasons you did it. Am I allowed to know who to thank?"
Still looking down on the strange girl in contempt, the woman grudgingly answered, "Korin. My name is Korin."
"Thank you, Korin, for saving me. Is there anything I can do for you?"
"I told you, I didn't do it for you, so I don't want your thanks or your favors." The woman scowled even more at the mere idea, and put a slight emphasis on the word favors.
At this point, Hotohori interrupted. Korin was giving off such antagonistic vibes that even he was affected by them. She really did not like Nozomi, apparently, though what triggered that at such a short acquaintance was beyond him. That wasn't his concern right now, however. "That strength, is it possible that you are…" Hotohori drifted off as he saw a red glow below her collarbone. Without thinking, he reached out for the collar of her kimono, only collecting himself when she asked him what he was doing, in the politest and sweetest voice, of course. Quickly putting his hand back, he explained a bit better.
"Oh, this?" She asked coyly. She pulled back her collar ever so slightly, revealing the character for willow glowing happily in a vibrant shade of red. "My name is Korin, but I am also known as the Suzaku warrior Nuriko."
"Really?" Nozomi asked excitedly. It looked to everyone like she'd gotten some energy back from the discovery of a new warrior. "That's wonderful!" she turned to where the first warrior was still inspecting the gazebo and shouted, "Tamahome, get over here!" Turning back to Nuriko, she said, "Including you, we've now found three warriors. This is Hotohori, of course, and this is Tamahome." Tamahome had joined them by that point. "Tamahome, meet fellow Suzaku warrior, Nuriko." Tamahome bowed to Nuriko politely, but instead of following his excellent example, she turned her back on them all, and walked off. Hotohori tried to call her back, but Nozomi stopped him.
"She doesn't want to talk to us right now. She doesn't like me, and she doesn't want to have anything to do with me. I think she needs a little time to cool off. Do you know what part of the palace she comes from?"
"Well, she's probably from my harem, but I don't know for sure." Hotohori admitted. At that Nozomi turned to a nearby guard and asked him if he knew. He confirmed that Lady Korin was indeed a member of his majesty's harem. Once the guard had gone back to poking and prodding the gazebo, Nozomi turned to her two warriors that were on speaking terms with her.
"That's why she doesn't like me, I'd bet money I don't have on it." Both men looked confused. In explanation she asked Hotohori, "Your harem is full of prospective brides?" He answered that yes, the most beautiful women in Konan were brought to his harem for him to choose from. "How often do you visit?" In response Hotohori instantly said,
"I don't even know where it is."
"There's your answer right there." The two men still looked confused as only straight men are when confronted with the workings of the feminine mind. Attempting to be patient, Nozomi elaborated.
"I'm betting all the women in your harem, for one reason or another, want to marry you, yet you've never gone in to see any of them. I come, and that very day I get to have dinner with you, and the next day I'm seen by your side almost constantly. To the women in your harem, that's like a slap in the face, especially since most of them are probably far better looking than I am, with better manners, and are better suited to be empress." Still they looked confused, especially Tamahome. Hotohori mostly looked upset at the way she represented the situation. Sighing, Nozomi reduced it down even more. "Let's just say that she's angry that I get to spend so much time with Hotohori, and leave it at that."
"But if she agreed to work as a warrior, she could too." Tamahome was obviously not seeing the feminine logic.
Nozomi was developing a grand headache by now, and was anxious to get away to be by herself for a while. "Women are not always logical, Tamahome. Right now she can't stand the sight of me, so she walks away."
As she continued to explain, Nozomi started going slightly pale, and was leaning more and more on Hotohori for support, another thing that would probably drive Nuriko nuts, she thought ironically. She was very grateful though, when Hotohori apparently noticed her increased discomfort and said, "Enough talking, the doctors said you need rest, so you're going to your room now." Without waiting for any objections, he lifted her up bridal style and started carrying her to her room.
'Oh yeah, this is the way to appease Nuriko.' Nozomi thought sarcastically. Honestly, men never listen to a word women say. She couldn't deny that it felt nice, however, to have someone take care of her again. She hadn't had that in a long time, and it was a nice change. So she decided to put Nuriko's reaction out of her head, and enjoy the ride. She relaxed in his arms, and slid her arms around his neck to help hold her up, no point in having him do all the work. Even when her grandpa was alive, he hadn't pampered her like this. He gave her the tools she needed to deal with a situation on her own. She'd always liked that approach, especially after he died, and she basically had to fend for herself.
Hotohori loved the feeling of having the small girl in his arms. At first she seemed a little tense, but after a few moments, she relaxed, and slid her arms around his neck, causing an almost unnoticeable blush to creep into his cheeks. This was undoubtedly a memory he would cherish for a long time. She rested her head against his chest, right over his heart. He almost wished she wouldn't have, because now she could certainly hear how it was beating. And of course his nervousness on the subject only increased its frantic pace.
"If you get tired, you can always put me down. You certainly don't have to carry me the whole way."
Relief passed through him. She'd misinterpreted the reason behind his frantically beating heart. "I will most certainly not allow you to walk. I can manage to carry you to your room, and then we both can rest."
Hotohori insisted on placing her in bed, instead of in a chair, or better yet in Nozomi's mind, letting her hobble there on her own. She was more tired than she realized, though, since almost as soon as he set her down, her eyelids started getting unbearably heavy, and she drifted peacefully off to sleep. Hotohori would have liked to spend all day beside her, but before five minutes had gone by, an advisor called through the door that there was official business that required his majesty's attention. Sighing in resignation, Hotohori stood up, took one last look at the sleeping Miko, and walked out to another boring meeting about how he needed an empress.