Disclaimer - I do not own Fushigi Yugi
Chapter Ten -- Allie
"Morning already? This place is messed up," mumbled one very exhausted blonde child. She crawled out of the bed, and stumbled to the bathroom. After washing, she stepped out of her room, and began to walk the hallways. A few seconds later, she realized that she, unfortunately, was completely lost. "Crap" Yui muttered.
"Lost, Yui-san?" Yui jumped at the sound of a smooth baritone filling the hall. She turned around to see the current emperor of Konan leaning against the wall.
"Since when do emperors lean against the wall, like some common hoodlum, and flirt with every girl that comes their way?" the girl asked, smirking slightly. Boushin laughed.
"Since now it seems," he replied with no hesitation, surprising the blonde.
"Didn't expect that. Well, Boushin-san, since you've been so kindly deposited here, care to help me find out where one could receive breakfast?" The tall man laughed, and nodded, walking towards an unknown destination. Yui ran after the man as he glided through the halls of the palace. The two arrived at the main hall, their appearances causing the people in it to fall dead silent.
"Good morning," Boushin greeted, unfazedly. Yui just kept her mouth shut. The many watched as the emperor walked towards his private dining room with the girl following him. As soon as the two were out of sight, the hall was abuzz with people murmuring and spreading rumors.
"Ah, Boushin-chan. There you are," Houki greeted as she saw her son walk in. She then noticed Yui behind him. "Good morning Yui." Yui looked up in surprise.
"Good morning," she returned a bit surprised. "Oh! Umm... sorry about last night." Houki smiled.
"That is alright. You needn't worry about it." Yui smiled as she walked over to the table and sat down.
"Yeah. Especially after you expended so much ki in that fight," Nakago remarked dryly. Yui turned and glared at him.
"Nice to see you too," she replied sarcastically. Both son and mother watched the exchanged between the two blondes in amusement. One second, they were fighting. The next, they would be talking and laughing. What a relationship!
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"Miaka!" Keisuke called from the kitchen. Not hearing any response, he popped his head out to see that his three companions were sleeping soundly on the couches. Smiling softly, Keisuke walked over and grabbed the Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho, so he could keep reading on whatever was happening to their friend.
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"So you want us to help you find Miaka-san's shinzaho?" Both blondes nodded. Boushin sighed then. "I frankly would not know where to even start," he softly said.
"Hey! HALT!" Sounds of a commotion reached the room. Immediately, Boushin and Nakago were on their feet. A figure burst through the door followed by many guards. A black cloak hid the person's identity.
"Yui." Yui looked up to see Nakago standing right next to her. "Give me the amulet." She nodded, and handed the blonde the amulet. He took it, the item transforming by just his touch. He held it in a casual yet firm grip. The figure then lunged at him, trying to get past him. Nakago easily countered the move, and struck the person back. The person got to their feet, and blocked off the attacks of the guards that seemed to have no effect on them. They easily evaded each attack until they were face to face with the blonde ex-shogun. Both glared down at each other until Nakago disappeared, and attacked the figure from the back. As he was about to deliver a stunning blow, the figure put their hands in surrender.
"PLEASE! STOP! I AM NOT YOUR OPPENENT!" Nakago backed slightly, his eyes narrowing in distrust. Yui stepped in front of Nakago, stopping his movement.
"Who are you? Why should we trust you?" The figure straightened up, and removed the hood of the cloak. It revealed bright, golden looks falling into a handsome face. High cheekbones, a small nose, full rosy lips, and eyes that matched the golden looks. The young man was immensely beautiful.
"I am a seishi of Kiiroi-sama. I was sent to help you." Nakago seemed unconvinced.
"How do we know that Kiiroi is not one of the gods that wants the destruction of the dimensional barrier?" The young man stared in surprise.
"But I was informed that you have already encountered Kuroi and Murasaki seishi," he replied back, confusion apparent in his features.
"Wait. We did." All stared at the blonde miko. "First the purple haired people, and then that freaky black haired baka," she muttered, not noticing that all attention was upon her.
"YES! That's them!" The man seemed relieved. Seeing that he meant no harm, Nakago allowed the sword to transform back into the amulet and handed it to Yui.
"So why are you here?"
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"Shun-kun?" The said boy turned around to see a little girl, no older than seven standing in the doorway. "Shun-kun? When are you going to take Neko-chan to the doctor?" Shun smiled slightly. The girl was quite petite, her curly, dark-auburn locks pulled up in two odango buns. In her arms was a small black kitten.
"Shall we go now, Yuiren-chan?" he asked, standing up. She nodded. Smiling, he picked her up into his arms, and walked towards the door, grabbing his car keys.
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Yui stared at the young man. He seemed nice enough, but his eyes were a bit unnerving. They reminded her of cat eyes.
"What is your name?" the blonde ex-shogun questioned all of a sudden.
"My name? Well, my seishi namesake is Soi," the young man replied, smiling. Both Yui and Nakago choked on their own food. Coughing, Yui regained her breath while Nakago closed his eyes for a moment, swallowing whatever was in his mouth. "Are you alright?" Soi asked, his golden eyes showing concern. Yui nodded. "Well, anyway, my brother seishi usually address me as So-kun. I suppose you may use that if you prefer."
"So-kun is great," Yui replied reassuringly, her smile a bit strained. Nakago nodded slightly, his mind still trying to get rid of the shock.
"Oh!" So-kun exclaimed suddenly. "I forgot to tell you, but before I came to find you, Suzaku-sama gave me a clue to where the shinzaho is hidden. I believe he said it was 'royalty's hope'." Both Yui and Nakago stared at each other.
"What could that refer to?" Nakago and Soi turned to face the emperor.
"I'm not sure, Heika-sama," the young man said. Abruptly, Yui stood up, and ran off. Nakago cursed, and ran after her. Yui skid through the halls, her feet slapping against the marble. She then burst through two intricately craved and adorned doors, and just stopped. Nakago stopped behind her to see that they had entered the shrine of Suzaku. Yui hesitantly took a step forward. The place looked untouched, as if no one had entered in here since the last time Miaka had tried summoning the beast god. She softly walked up to the statue that stood in the middle of the shrine, and looked up at it. Nakago then entered into the shrine. The air felt heavy, old.
"Suzaku is crying." Nakago looked up at Yui in surprise. She sounded distant, as if speaking to an unknown enigma.
"What?" Yui turned around slightly.
"Look. There are tears sliding down his cheeks." Nakago walked up to where the girl was standing and looked up to where she was indicating. Barely visible were small crystal droplets, sliding down the bird's cheeks. "See. He's crying."
"What's going on?" Both blondes turned around to see Boushin walking into the room. "What is this place?" Both stared.
"Somebody please tell me he did not just ask that," Yui said, disbelief dripping in her tone.
"Hate to tell ya, but I think he just did," Nakago replied sarcastically. Yui glared at him.
"Arigatou. I really needed," she snapped back. "But, seriously, you've never been in here before, Boushin-san?" The young man shook his head.
"Never." Nakago's eyes narrowed slightly.
"But where do you pray to Suzaku then?" he asked.
"The shrine in the eastern gardens of the palace." Both Yui and Nakago exchanged glances.
"Alright. Somebody better tell us what the hell is going on? Why has a new shrine been built when this one already existed? And why doesn't anyone know about it?!" Yui stared at the emperor and Dowager empress. Yui's eyes narrowed as no one stepped to answer her. She clenched her hands into tight fists, her nails piercing the skin of her palms, drawing blood.
"The monk." Yui jerked at the sound of Nakago's voice. "This reeks of the monk. Soi! You said that Suzaku gave you the message, right?
"Well, umm, it was a Nyan-nyan who told me." Nakago smirked.
"Exactly. Houki-san, it is custom to keep a tribute to the seishi. Usually this is done by keeping an item that was once in their possession in the shrine." Houki sighed slightly, and nodded. She walked up to one of the walls. Yui then noticed the thin stripe of red going through the beige walls. At first she had thought it had been for decoration, but now she knew it wasn't. Houki pulled at the thin stripe, revealing a drawer in which a few items lay. Among them were Hotohori's sword, Nuriko's bracelets, and Chichiri's staff. Nakago walked over and tried to pick up the staff, only to drop on contact. "Damn." Yui reached past Nakago's arm, and touched it, only to recoil in pain.
"Oww.. That hurt. But anyway, what do you propose we do now, genius?" Nakago glanced at Yui through slits. Both then turned around, and stared at the emperor. "No way."
"Come on!" Nakago urged.
"I doubt it'll work. It's not like he's Hotohori or something! I mean, I don't think they share the same chemical make-up." Nakago raised an eyebrow slightly before replying.
"But he does have enough of a resemblance, and frankly, they might share some chemical make-up. I mean, whom else did he get the 'Y' from? Unless you're suggesting that Houki is the one with the fr...." Yui sighed in defeat.
"Fine!" Nakago smirked slightly at his victory.
"Heika-sama. Can you come here for a moment?" The young man stared in suspicion, but obliged. "Can you pick up the monk's staff?" Both Nakago and Yui watched in anticipation as the brunette man walked over to the staff, and reached for it. On contact, the staff trans formed into a thin sword, beautifully craved, the hilt adorned with ribbons, diamonds, and such.
"Woah."
"I think I was just proved correct. As always," Nakago stated, smirking. If looks could kill, Yui's glare would have placed the blonde ex-shogun already in the next set of people ready for re-incarnation.
"Shut up, you egotistical, pig-headed bastard," Yui replied, before turning to face Soi.
"Well, at least you've found it. I'm sorry that I gave you wrong information," the man said. Yui smiled.
"Don't worry about it."
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"They found it!" Keisuke cheered, as three very cranky people crawled into the kitchen.
"What the hell are you yelling for, dumbass?" Tetsuya added, rubbing his eyes.
"Yui and Nakago found Miaka's shinzaho." All three orbs popped open.
"Really? That's great!" Miaka smiled, happiness flooding throughout her slim form. "Go Yui," she whisper softly, before butting into Taka and Keisuke's conversation.
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"Ken! What's wrong?" The brunette choked on his drink, his golden pupils dilated. Suddenly, a soft red light emitted from his neck, as 'hoshi' was set in his flesh.
"Holy shit," the ebony haired man murmured. "I think we have problems."
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(A/N): Okay, I got the tenth chapter done! Whoo!!! Anyway, this is a bit short, but it has a lot going on, and plus, I couldn't think of anything more. So leave one!!
To Midnight Shade – Thank you for reading! I'm glad that you like that story! Also, I'm happy to see that you enjoyed the pasts.
To Otaku-no-Miko – I'm glad to see that you like reading this story! Thank you so much for reviewing.
Now about chapter nine --- I noticed that I forgot to put something in that really confused everyone. So clear things up, here's a short summary of the chapter :: Yui and Nakago share their separate pasts. Yui talks about how she lived in Osaka with her grandfather until his death. Nakago replies by telling her that he is half-French, and then talks about his abusive "father". Overall, the chapter mostly talks about the pain the two suffered. So I hope this clears things up. So sorry about all the confusion.
Well, hope you like this chapter! Please leave one!!!!