Disclaimer: I don't own Fushigi Yuugi, if I could, I would.
Chapter 23: Warriors of Byakko
Jade sat on the balcony outside their room, her hair billowing softly in the wind. So this was the real Sairou... As if to further proof, an old man walked past her. She smiled at him. "Good morning, Tokaki-san! Thank you so much for letting us stay in your beautiful house, you didn't have to..." The Byakko warrior returned the smile. "Don't worry about it, Kokyu, a seishi mush always be helpful to other seishi, and you all are no exception." Jade had gotten used to being called Kokyu, but she felt that the formality was silly. So, she stood and turned to leave. "Please, call me Jade." she requested before walking off.
Later, she found herself out in the orchards, picking peaches for Subaru. She had put her hair up in a messy ponytail and rolled up the sleeves of her blouse. A basket filled halfway with peaches sat beside her as she tried vainly to reach an extremely high one. "Damnit...just a little farther..." As if granting her wish, she felt herself being lifted in the air by a strong set of arms. "Wha-?!" she sputtered before looking down and seeing the familiar set of amber eyes staring up through a mess of red hair. She chuckled softly. "You oaf...you just want too look up my skirt!" The bandit lowered her once she got the difficult peach. " I just thought ya might need some manly assistance..." he teased. Her eyebrow cocked, amused. It was time for the teaser to get a taste of his own medicine, and she knew just how to do it. Putting her hands on his chest, she pushed him onto the grass gently. The surprised redhead felt her face close to his, and he flushed. She kissed the corner of his mouth, trailing down his neck, causing a low moan from him. She pulled away just as he began to run his hands down her sides. She unbuttoned her blouse until a seductive amount of cleavege showed. She saw his eyes widen, and she got off of him. "Please excuse me...I thought you were my boyfriend...You see, I promised him a good makeut session, but if you're not him..." She sighed and picked up her basket of peaches. '3...2...1...' she counted silently as she walked off slowly. A pair of arms grabbed her and twisted her around. She let out a squeal of dismay before she felt herself being pulled into a deeply passionate kiss. The basket fell clattering to the ground. Jade was only being supported by Tasuki's arms, and she felt light-headed at the intensity of the kiss. The bandit's hand began to inch towards her open shirt. She gasped as he kissed her deeper. As she felt him begin to button her shirt again, she was extremely confused. Pulling away form him, she looked into his eyes. "What are you doing? Is something wrong?" she asked, afraid. His amber eyes shone with gentleness. "Jade, you don' need to seduce me... I will always treasure you no matter what. You are the only person I have given my heart to, and that is something special. Jade, you are the most beautiful, sweet, strong-willed girl, and..." his voice weakened at this point. "I want to be with you for the rest of our lives..." Jade was touched deeply. All this time...she had never thought Tasuki wanted to be with her as much as she did with him. This man was the one thing she could not live without, and he felt the same towards her. She smiled. "It's a deal then." she said quietly as they both gathered up the peaches and took them to Subaru.
Later, she was in the kitchen with Shih Fuan, Subaru and Tokaki's adopted daughter, and Miaka making dinner. As she chopped chicken, she heard Shih Fuan explaining the tower up on the hill. "Legend says that if a couple kisses on that tower at exactly sunset, then the couple will be together forever. Unfortunatly, it has been recently plagued with demons, so it's too dangerous to go into it." Jade hid her snort from the other two. Her and Tasuki could handle a few puny demons, no problem! So, tonight, she planned on surprising him by taking him to the tower so they could ensure their relationship's immortality. She looked over at Miaka, who's eyes were shining brightly. 'Poor Miaka...having to stay away from Tamahome for so long...Oh well. After the summoning, she can be with him forever...' "Uh, Miaka, your food is boiling over." The said Priestess yelped and tried to clean up the mess. Chuckling, she resumed to her food. She was planning to make some things from her world. She was successful, but feared the other warriors wouldn't like it. Sighing, she waited for the meal, apprehensive.
The Suzaku seishi walked in, the three girls standing next to the table nervously. "Woah, look at all th' weird lookin' food here!" the blunt bandit said. Jade sweatdropped. "Well, I made some things from my world..." He grinned and kissed her cheek. "I'm sure it's great, Jade." She flushed. 'Please let it be okay...' she mentally pleaded. Miaka smiled from ear to ear. "Try my food first!" She gestured to the gross-looking section of the table. Jade paled. She had seen what had happened to that food, if you could even call it that, and had no desire to eat it. But, she didn't want to hurt her Priestess, so she sat on Tasuki's lap and picked up a pair of chopsticks, as did everyone else. Taking a small amount of the foul substance, they each took a bite. They dropped their chopsticks, a look of horror etched onto their faces. Jade heard, with amusement, each of their thoughts:
Chichiri: Daaaaaaa...
Tasuki: Do people actually eat this stuff?!
Chiriko: I can't even decifer the contents of this specimen!
Mitsukake: I think I'm going to need to make a huge batch of stomach medicine after this...
Miaka looked at them, hurt and anger shining in her eyes. "You all think it tastes terrible." They all turned red, and Tasuki, in his oblivious way, picked up a bowl of soup and took a sip. "I think th' soup is good!" he chimed. The Priestess face darkened further. "Shih Fuan made the soup." The bandit froze, ashamed. Tamahome said in a quiet voice, but loud enough for everyone to hear, "I won't eat this garbage." Tasuki shot him a glare. "Tamahome, were you raised in a barn?! Even if this stuff is awful, you don't-ack!" he stopped in realization of what he just said. Miaka ran out, crying. The dark haired seishi said quietly "Give me all of Miaka's food." They all gladly handed him the food, and he began to shovel it in. Jade giggled. "Your face is turning blue!" Tama mumbled "I said I was gonna eat it!" The Celeste Warrior turned to Tasuki. "Would you like to try some of my food?" He nodded, and she picked up a small amount of chicken fried rice and placed it in his mouth. He ate it, grinning. "Hey Tama! Looks like I got the better cook as well as the hottie!" Jade looked at him curiously, but the bandit was busy stuffiing himself. With a small chuckle, she got up and went to her room to get ready for the tower meeting later.
After changing into a dress which Tasuki had once said looked pretty on her and fixing her hair, she began walking down the balcony to his room. On the way there, she heard talking coming from Tamahome's room. Growing quiet, she stood beside the door and listened. A soft, female voice which she registered as Shih Fuan's said "Pity they have to return to their world after Suzaku has been summoned..." Her voice did not sound as if she really felt that, though. Jade's breath caught in her throat and she moved even closer to hear the conversation. Tamahome murmured in return "Yeah, I'll have to forget about Miaka...it'll be hard...and Tasuki will be killing people, he'll be so upset..." Tears sprang to the Celeste Warrior's eyes. Now the two of them could never be together! He must have known...how could he not have? 'That damn bastard knew we couldn't be together, he led me on! And I believed him! I'll be glad to get out of this world...' she thought fiercely as she ran down the hallway, right past the redhead himself. "Jade?!" He ran after her and grabbed her arm. She wrenched it out of his grasp and flew into her room, sobbing. The stunned bandit came in. "Jade? What's wrong?" She glared at him. "Get out!" she growled. He still came to her bed. "Please tell me.." Her symbols flared in anger as she snarled "Oh, you want to know what's wrong?! Well, I'll tell you what's wrong! We can't be together, ever! Once we summon Suzaku, Miaka and I will be shoved back into our world, and you don't even have enough man in you to tell me! You just lead me on with false promises! I trusted you enough to make love to you-twice!- and this is how you thank me?!" She buried her face in her pillow. Tasuki felt as if his heart had crumbled to dust. He had no idea that she would be pulled back into her world. He touched her shoulder, and she flinched away violently. "Jade..." he said quietly, watching her body tremble from her sobbing. "Jade-sama...I had no idea what was gonna happen...if I did, I would have been there by your side, protecting you as well as I could. And I wasn't leading you on, my feelings are real and as deep as I showed to you. Please forgive me for making it so that I'm not trustworthy...I'm a horrible boyfriend..." She looked up at him, and was surprised to see tears forming in his eyes. "Tasuki..." He held his arms open, and she crawled onto his lap like a small child wanting to be comforted. He rubbed her shoulderblade gently as she buried her face in his coat. "I-I'm sorry...I just don't want to leave you..." she whimpered. "Don' worry...I won't let Tai-Itskun and her children have you, I had you first..." Some of her pride flared as she glared at him. "I belong to no one!" He bit his lip. Damnit! Couldn't he ever say anything right?! "W-what I ment t' say, is that I need you more than they do! I never said I owned you." He chuckled. "Woe t' whoever tries to own ya, though..." She looked up at him and sniffed. The redhead shifted so that they were more comfortable before saying "Ya know how proud I am of ya?" She shook her head, and he lowered his mouth to her ear. "Ya make me so proud...because ya are always so kind t' everyone and ya never ask for anything in return for yer kindness...Also, yer so beautiful..." Jade blushed brightly. "N-no I'm not..." He nuzzled her ear before breathing "Take off your clothes, and I'll show ya..." She blushed even brighter. "You are such a pervert, Kou Shun'u!" she giggled, causing him to laugh as well. They fell back onto the bed, laughing harder. They were able to control their laughter enough to talk. "So...earlier at dinner, you said to Tamahome that not only did you get the hottie, but also the better cook..." she said, cocking her head slightly. He grinnned. "Well, ya see, Tama and I have been braggin' about you an' Miaka t' each other...like how he proposed t' her, and how th' two of us already made love...That kinda pissed him off..." he continued, a fang popping out of his grin. "Tasuki! You didn't! You are so mean! Those two can't help that they can't do anything like that!" She sat up, frowning. He seemed confused. "Ehhhh?! They can't? Ya mean Tama's sterile?" Jade didn't know whether to crack up or to hit him, so she settled with a stern look. "Now I know this is a lot for your puny brain to handle, but Miaka has to be a virgin to summon Suzaku." Tasuki's eyes went wide. "W-were you supposed t' be one?" he whispered, almost fearfully. Seeing the concern in his eyes, she gently reached up and kissed him. "Not that I know of...don't worry about it..." He nodded. "So, why were ya goin' t' my room anyway?" She gasped. "Oh god, I completely forgot! Earlier, in the kitchen, we were discussing that tower and the legend...before Miaka got all upset...Crap. I'm gonna take her those peaches as an apology...Wanna come?" she asked. The bandit nodded and helped her up.
"Ohhhh Miaka!" The firey haired couple popped into Miaka's room grinning. "Look what we have! Peaches I picked myself! It's a peace offering, let's eat them together..." Jade said, smiling. But instead of seeing Miaka, Tamahome was perched on the windowsill, depressed. "Ehhhhh? Where's Miaka?" Tasuki asked, puzzled. The dark haired seishi said quietly "She...went up to that tower up there..." The Celeste Warrior jaw dropped. "S-she did?! But that's too dangerous! There's monsters and demons up there! Why did she do something so reckless? And why aren't you with her?! Why are you just sitting there moping?!" He didn't answer. Tokaki had heard them and walked in. "Wha-?! She went to the tower? That little idiot! Who knows what kind of things are dwelling there! It's forbidden anyway! Why would she go there?!" Shih Faun, who was with them, lowered her head sheepishly. "I told her about the legend of the tower...but I also told her to stay away from it too!" she said quietly. Tamahome got up to leave when his master repremanded him. "No! You mustn't go there! I'll go...and I'll take Kokyu and Fang-boy with me. It's bad enough with those two lovebirds, but you and the Priestess are even worse!" Jade and Tasuki both glared at him evilly, but the Byakko seishi had noticed how the redhead had his arm around her waist the whole conversation. In fact, it was so incredibly obvious every time he saw them together. Tama was about to argue the point, but Tokaki started yelling at him about how he and Miaka could never be together, because she would be returned to her old world. Jade felt a pang of sadness, and Tasuki seemed to sense it, because he tightened his grip on her comfortingly. "Stop loving her before it is too late, and you both go through that torture..." The Suzaku seishi smiled sadly before saying quietly "It already is too late..." He ran out, leaving the occupants of the room stunned. The bandit looked over at his koi, and she nodded. She ran into her room and put on her armor and sword before joining them outside where the horses were kept. They raced to the tower, hoping they weren't too late.
How is my lovely story turning out? It's not as good as I hoped, but I tried. Pleeeeeeeeaaaaaaaassssssseeeeee review!
Chapter 23: Warriors of Byakko
Jade sat on the balcony outside their room, her hair billowing softly in the wind. So this was the real Sairou... As if to further proof, an old man walked past her. She smiled at him. "Good morning, Tokaki-san! Thank you so much for letting us stay in your beautiful house, you didn't have to..." The Byakko warrior returned the smile. "Don't worry about it, Kokyu, a seishi mush always be helpful to other seishi, and you all are no exception." Jade had gotten used to being called Kokyu, but she felt that the formality was silly. So, she stood and turned to leave. "Please, call me Jade." she requested before walking off.
Later, she found herself out in the orchards, picking peaches for Subaru. She had put her hair up in a messy ponytail and rolled up the sleeves of her blouse. A basket filled halfway with peaches sat beside her as she tried vainly to reach an extremely high one. "Damnit...just a little farther..." As if granting her wish, she felt herself being lifted in the air by a strong set of arms. "Wha-?!" she sputtered before looking down and seeing the familiar set of amber eyes staring up through a mess of red hair. She chuckled softly. "You oaf...you just want too look up my skirt!" The bandit lowered her once she got the difficult peach. " I just thought ya might need some manly assistance..." he teased. Her eyebrow cocked, amused. It was time for the teaser to get a taste of his own medicine, and she knew just how to do it. Putting her hands on his chest, she pushed him onto the grass gently. The surprised redhead felt her face close to his, and he flushed. She kissed the corner of his mouth, trailing down his neck, causing a low moan from him. She pulled away just as he began to run his hands down her sides. She unbuttoned her blouse until a seductive amount of cleavege showed. She saw his eyes widen, and she got off of him. "Please excuse me...I thought you were my boyfriend...You see, I promised him a good makeut session, but if you're not him..." She sighed and picked up her basket of peaches. '3...2...1...' she counted silently as she walked off slowly. A pair of arms grabbed her and twisted her around. She let out a squeal of dismay before she felt herself being pulled into a deeply passionate kiss. The basket fell clattering to the ground. Jade was only being supported by Tasuki's arms, and she felt light-headed at the intensity of the kiss. The bandit's hand began to inch towards her open shirt. She gasped as he kissed her deeper. As she felt him begin to button her shirt again, she was extremely confused. Pulling away form him, she looked into his eyes. "What are you doing? Is something wrong?" she asked, afraid. His amber eyes shone with gentleness. "Jade, you don' need to seduce me... I will always treasure you no matter what. You are the only person I have given my heart to, and that is something special. Jade, you are the most beautiful, sweet, strong-willed girl, and..." his voice weakened at this point. "I want to be with you for the rest of our lives..." Jade was touched deeply. All this time...she had never thought Tasuki wanted to be with her as much as she did with him. This man was the one thing she could not live without, and he felt the same towards her. She smiled. "It's a deal then." she said quietly as they both gathered up the peaches and took them to Subaru.
Later, she was in the kitchen with Shih Fuan, Subaru and Tokaki's adopted daughter, and Miaka making dinner. As she chopped chicken, she heard Shih Fuan explaining the tower up on the hill. "Legend says that if a couple kisses on that tower at exactly sunset, then the couple will be together forever. Unfortunatly, it has been recently plagued with demons, so it's too dangerous to go into it." Jade hid her snort from the other two. Her and Tasuki could handle a few puny demons, no problem! So, tonight, she planned on surprising him by taking him to the tower so they could ensure their relationship's immortality. She looked over at Miaka, who's eyes were shining brightly. 'Poor Miaka...having to stay away from Tamahome for so long...Oh well. After the summoning, she can be with him forever...' "Uh, Miaka, your food is boiling over." The said Priestess yelped and tried to clean up the mess. Chuckling, she resumed to her food. She was planning to make some things from her world. She was successful, but feared the other warriors wouldn't like it. Sighing, she waited for the meal, apprehensive.
The Suzaku seishi walked in, the three girls standing next to the table nervously. "Woah, look at all th' weird lookin' food here!" the blunt bandit said. Jade sweatdropped. "Well, I made some things from my world..." He grinned and kissed her cheek. "I'm sure it's great, Jade." She flushed. 'Please let it be okay...' she mentally pleaded. Miaka smiled from ear to ear. "Try my food first!" She gestured to the gross-looking section of the table. Jade paled. She had seen what had happened to that food, if you could even call it that, and had no desire to eat it. But, she didn't want to hurt her Priestess, so she sat on Tasuki's lap and picked up a pair of chopsticks, as did everyone else. Taking a small amount of the foul substance, they each took a bite. They dropped their chopsticks, a look of horror etched onto their faces. Jade heard, with amusement, each of their thoughts:
Chichiri: Daaaaaaa...
Tasuki: Do people actually eat this stuff?!
Chiriko: I can't even decifer the contents of this specimen!
Mitsukake: I think I'm going to need to make a huge batch of stomach medicine after this...
Miaka looked at them, hurt and anger shining in her eyes. "You all think it tastes terrible." They all turned red, and Tasuki, in his oblivious way, picked up a bowl of soup and took a sip. "I think th' soup is good!" he chimed. The Priestess face darkened further. "Shih Fuan made the soup." The bandit froze, ashamed. Tamahome said in a quiet voice, but loud enough for everyone to hear, "I won't eat this garbage." Tasuki shot him a glare. "Tamahome, were you raised in a barn?! Even if this stuff is awful, you don't-ack!" he stopped in realization of what he just said. Miaka ran out, crying. The dark haired seishi said quietly "Give me all of Miaka's food." They all gladly handed him the food, and he began to shovel it in. Jade giggled. "Your face is turning blue!" Tama mumbled "I said I was gonna eat it!" The Celeste Warrior turned to Tasuki. "Would you like to try some of my food?" He nodded, and she picked up a small amount of chicken fried rice and placed it in his mouth. He ate it, grinning. "Hey Tama! Looks like I got the better cook as well as the hottie!" Jade looked at him curiously, but the bandit was busy stuffiing himself. With a small chuckle, she got up and went to her room to get ready for the tower meeting later.
After changing into a dress which Tasuki had once said looked pretty on her and fixing her hair, she began walking down the balcony to his room. On the way there, she heard talking coming from Tamahome's room. Growing quiet, she stood beside the door and listened. A soft, female voice which she registered as Shih Fuan's said "Pity they have to return to their world after Suzaku has been summoned..." Her voice did not sound as if she really felt that, though. Jade's breath caught in her throat and she moved even closer to hear the conversation. Tamahome murmured in return "Yeah, I'll have to forget about Miaka...it'll be hard...and Tasuki will be killing people, he'll be so upset..." Tears sprang to the Celeste Warrior's eyes. Now the two of them could never be together! He must have known...how could he not have? 'That damn bastard knew we couldn't be together, he led me on! And I believed him! I'll be glad to get out of this world...' she thought fiercely as she ran down the hallway, right past the redhead himself. "Jade?!" He ran after her and grabbed her arm. She wrenched it out of his grasp and flew into her room, sobbing. The stunned bandit came in. "Jade? What's wrong?" She glared at him. "Get out!" she growled. He still came to her bed. "Please tell me.." Her symbols flared in anger as she snarled "Oh, you want to know what's wrong?! Well, I'll tell you what's wrong! We can't be together, ever! Once we summon Suzaku, Miaka and I will be shoved back into our world, and you don't even have enough man in you to tell me! You just lead me on with false promises! I trusted you enough to make love to you-twice!- and this is how you thank me?!" She buried her face in her pillow. Tasuki felt as if his heart had crumbled to dust. He had no idea that she would be pulled back into her world. He touched her shoulder, and she flinched away violently. "Jade..." he said quietly, watching her body tremble from her sobbing. "Jade-sama...I had no idea what was gonna happen...if I did, I would have been there by your side, protecting you as well as I could. And I wasn't leading you on, my feelings are real and as deep as I showed to you. Please forgive me for making it so that I'm not trustworthy...I'm a horrible boyfriend..." She looked up at him, and was surprised to see tears forming in his eyes. "Tasuki..." He held his arms open, and she crawled onto his lap like a small child wanting to be comforted. He rubbed her shoulderblade gently as she buried her face in his coat. "I-I'm sorry...I just don't want to leave you..." she whimpered. "Don' worry...I won't let Tai-Itskun and her children have you, I had you first..." Some of her pride flared as she glared at him. "I belong to no one!" He bit his lip. Damnit! Couldn't he ever say anything right?! "W-what I ment t' say, is that I need you more than they do! I never said I owned you." He chuckled. "Woe t' whoever tries to own ya, though..." She looked up at him and sniffed. The redhead shifted so that they were more comfortable before saying "Ya know how proud I am of ya?" She shook her head, and he lowered his mouth to her ear. "Ya make me so proud...because ya are always so kind t' everyone and ya never ask for anything in return for yer kindness...Also, yer so beautiful..." Jade blushed brightly. "N-no I'm not..." He nuzzled her ear before breathing "Take off your clothes, and I'll show ya..." She blushed even brighter. "You are such a pervert, Kou Shun'u!" she giggled, causing him to laugh as well. They fell back onto the bed, laughing harder. They were able to control their laughter enough to talk. "So...earlier at dinner, you said to Tamahome that not only did you get the hottie, but also the better cook..." she said, cocking her head slightly. He grinnned. "Well, ya see, Tama and I have been braggin' about you an' Miaka t' each other...like how he proposed t' her, and how th' two of us already made love...That kinda pissed him off..." he continued, a fang popping out of his grin. "Tasuki! You didn't! You are so mean! Those two can't help that they can't do anything like that!" She sat up, frowning. He seemed confused. "Ehhhh?! They can't? Ya mean Tama's sterile?" Jade didn't know whether to crack up or to hit him, so she settled with a stern look. "Now I know this is a lot for your puny brain to handle, but Miaka has to be a virgin to summon Suzaku." Tasuki's eyes went wide. "W-were you supposed t' be one?" he whispered, almost fearfully. Seeing the concern in his eyes, she gently reached up and kissed him. "Not that I know of...don't worry about it..." He nodded. "So, why were ya goin' t' my room anyway?" She gasped. "Oh god, I completely forgot! Earlier, in the kitchen, we were discussing that tower and the legend...before Miaka got all upset...Crap. I'm gonna take her those peaches as an apology...Wanna come?" she asked. The bandit nodded and helped her up.
"Ohhhh Miaka!" The firey haired couple popped into Miaka's room grinning. "Look what we have! Peaches I picked myself! It's a peace offering, let's eat them together..." Jade said, smiling. But instead of seeing Miaka, Tamahome was perched on the windowsill, depressed. "Ehhhhh? Where's Miaka?" Tasuki asked, puzzled. The dark haired seishi said quietly "She...went up to that tower up there..." The Celeste Warrior jaw dropped. "S-she did?! But that's too dangerous! There's monsters and demons up there! Why did she do something so reckless? And why aren't you with her?! Why are you just sitting there moping?!" He didn't answer. Tokaki had heard them and walked in. "Wha-?! She went to the tower? That little idiot! Who knows what kind of things are dwelling there! It's forbidden anyway! Why would she go there?!" Shih Faun, who was with them, lowered her head sheepishly. "I told her about the legend of the tower...but I also told her to stay away from it too!" she said quietly. Tamahome got up to leave when his master repremanded him. "No! You mustn't go there! I'll go...and I'll take Kokyu and Fang-boy with me. It's bad enough with those two lovebirds, but you and the Priestess are even worse!" Jade and Tasuki both glared at him evilly, but the Byakko seishi had noticed how the redhead had his arm around her waist the whole conversation. In fact, it was so incredibly obvious every time he saw them together. Tama was about to argue the point, but Tokaki started yelling at him about how he and Miaka could never be together, because she would be returned to her old world. Jade felt a pang of sadness, and Tasuki seemed to sense it, because he tightened his grip on her comfortingly. "Stop loving her before it is too late, and you both go through that torture..." The Suzaku seishi smiled sadly before saying quietly "It already is too late..." He ran out, leaving the occupants of the room stunned. The bandit looked over at his koi, and she nodded. She ran into her room and put on her armor and sword before joining them outside where the horses were kept. They raced to the tower, hoping they weren't too late.
How is my lovely story turning out? It's not as good as I hoped, but I tried. Pleeeeeeeeaaaaaaaassssssseeeeee review!