~ Fushigi Yuugi ~
Twixt Earth and Sky
by Elwen Skye
Disclaimer: Fushigi Yuugi belongs to Yuu Watase, Flower Comics, Viz Comics, Pioneer, and probably a lot of other big companies. I make no claims of ownership on the series or its characters. I write this fanfic merely for personal enjoyment and the entertainment of others, no profit is derived.
Warnings: This story follows the anime storyline and includes spoilers for the entire TV series plus both OVAs. This section contains hints of adult situations. Please exercise your own discretion in reading.
O tanoshimi ni.
~ Chapter 2 ~
Adversity's Onslaught
The Legend Reawakens
Shizue sat on her bed by the window, a history book open in her lap. Instead of reading it, she pelted Tomo with a new series of questions about his past in the world of the Four Gods. Somewhere in her mind, she still hadn't accepted the fact that the events of the Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho could possibly be real, but she suspended disbelief for her curiosity's sake.
"So how exactly did you take over Kaen's body anyway?" she asked.
Tomo, sans make-up, looked thoughtful for a moment before replying. "In a sense, she became my miko: she accepted my spirit into her body and became able to use my powers. We merged, essentially, but each of us was still separate within the mind."
"So this was a volunteer kind of thing?"
"Possessing an unwilling host is extremely difficult. She was quite willing." He had an odd, slightly distasteful expression as he finished the sentence.
Noticing, Shizue asked, "Why the face?"
"Uh... no reason..." Now that he had taken off his make-up, the Seishi's blush was clear to see.
The girl smiled playfully at his discomfiture, but she didn't understand his embarrassment. She was silent for a moment, while unasked and unformulated questions hung in the air. A different thought occurred to her. "Hey, do you think any of the other Seishi would be here, too, since you are?"
"I thought about it, but I don't know any better than you do. I probably would have sensed the ki of any Seiryuu Seishi nearby, but I'm not as sensitive to others as Nakago was."
"I see. I wonder why you are so special."
"I don't care, I just wish I wasn't."
Both individuals had changed over the course of their week together, but some things would always remain constant. Tomo was still flatly uncooperative anywhere destiny was involved. And Shizue was always focused on what could and needed to be done.
It was inevitable that the two had grown closer, considering their unique relationship. Yet there was always a small sense of distance that separated them; Shizue because of her practicality, Tomo perhaps because of his arrogance. All the same, it was a relatively comfortable, familiar sort of friendship-by-necessity.
"Okay... so there might be some other Seishi spirits out there somewhere. You think maybe they've figured something out?"
"I doubt it," Tomo sniffed.
"Maybe you should go and see anyway," she pressed.
He stared at her. "Are you trying to get rid of me?! ...but I cant leave anyways," he added gloomily.
"Er, yeah, sure. I never got that part. Why can't you leave? Have you tried lately?"
And suddenly, Tomo realized that whatever inhibition he had felt before was now gone. He was free to leave . . . but it must still be part of destiny's designs, he thought sulkily.
"Fine, you're right," he said abruptly. "I am suddenly, amazingly able to leave. I bet I'll be back, though. Destiny has it all planned out."
"You know, you've got a really big, nasty grudge there," she called after him as he faded out.
The sense of being alone was unexpectedly oppressive. Shizue hadn't thought about the ramifications of being in constant company and then suddenly being deprived of that company. Now she wandered around the house that felt so empty, with her parents at work and herself forced to stay home and study. After the most recent F she brought home her parents had forced her to drop her job and several activities to give her more time to concentrate on schoolwork. But they didn't know about Tomo, and he was what had really been causing all the distraction.
As evening approached, Shizue walked into the kitchen to begin preparations for dinner. A false sense of normality seemed to settle, as Tomo hadn't really wandered out of her room very often; cooking was still a solitary pursuit.
But as she was setting the rice to cooking, Shizue suddenly felt another presence in the room. It wasn't Tomo, but somehow seemed grander . . . and darker. This time with a genuine twinge of fear, she turned to face the person.
"Nakago?!"
The named stood leaning against the kitchen doorway, watching her with a perfectly bland expression. It was getting dark, and Shizue had yet to turn on the lights, but his form, his armor, his cape, all were unmistakable.
Assuming he was looking for his compatriot, she began, "Tomo just left to--"
"Yes, so this is my opportunity," he interrupted, eyes narrowing.
"W-what?"
He took a step forward, and Shizue instinctively, unwillingly, took a step back.
"You don't know anything right now. Unfortunately, you will. So I have to neutralize you ahead of time."
"N-neutralize?" The girl realized that repeating him wasn't going to help her, but she was so surprised and terrified that she couldn't think straight.
"Nothing personal," Nakago said. And he raised his palm towards her. By now, Shizue had been backed against the far wall, and his gesture pinned her there. She had a moment to reflect on her life and death, until she realized he was undoing her skirt.
"Oh God, no..." she whispered hoarsely.
"Killing you would tangle the threads of destiny too much, unfortunately."
"GET AWAY FROM ME!" she screamed, and strained against the invisible bonds that held her in place. To the surprise of both, she burst free, and a white glow forced Nakago to jump back. Shizue felt a warmth and power flowing through her, comforting but as yet uncomprehended. Her right cheek was throbbing, and seemed to be the source of the light.
Still with his arm half-raised to shield himself, Nakago scowled at her. "So your Seishi powers have awakened. I should have guessed." He smiled coldly. "But that will not save you."
And he raised his palm again. Shizue could sense that this time there was concentrated effort behind it. The glow dimmed and the warmth faded, and she felt as if somehow the power was being forced back . . . to wherever it had come from. It was not a very pleasant sensation, like the bloat after eating too much. She struggled, mentally, trying to focus her will on the mysterious power, but to no avail.
"No more interruptions," Nakago said, as the last of the glow disappeared, and with an easy gesture Shizue was lying helpless on the kitchen table. She could not resist this time as he undressed the both of them. She cried, silently, knowing that any protests would fall upon deaf ears.
As the Seiryuu Seishi positioned himself over her, she whimpered quietly and squeezed her eyes shut, as if she could block out what was happening. Her last tears traced slowly down her face.
She felt him thrust, but there was no pain, no invasion. She opened her eyes when she felt a tingling all over her body, as if she were blanketed in feathers.
"Tomo?" she whispered.
The illusionist lay atop her, shielding her body with his own spirt form. Which meant that Nakago was . . . She flushed. Best not to think about it.
"Lift your illusion, Tomo," the Seiryuu leader commanded. "If you have sated your perversion."
Shizue was in a position to watch the stricken look flicker across Tomo's face, penetrating his emotionless mask of paint, which he was wearing again. Something shimmered out of existence, almost imperceptible but for Shizue's heightened sensitivity the Seishi's illusions.
Nakago spoke again, now to Shizue, "You were . . . fortunate," he murmured, "this time. But as a Terran Seishi, be cautious of whom's vessel you choose to be." With that, he was gone.
The girl lay, blinking in the semi-darkness. "Terran Seishi? And vessel?" she asked pointedly.
Tomo sweatdropped. "It's not so demeaning... like I explained earlier about being a miko."
She smiled weakly. "A Seishi that's a Miko... What is wrong with the world these days?"
"Worlds, you mean," a voice rasped. Another shadow had appeared in the room.
"Taiitsukun!" Shizue exclaimed. "How can you be here?" 'Same as anyone else from the Tenchisho can be here,' a voice in her head replied drily.
The remaining male Seishi cringed. "Haven't you an illusion or something for your appearance?"
"I don't need to hide behind falsehoods," she returned.
'He's pretty good,' Shizue mused. 'There's probably no other guy besides Nakago who doesn't scream at the sight of her.' Females, on the other hand, tended to accept the woman's appearance with equanimity.
The girl suddenly became aware of her situation. Tomo still lay above her, draped like a veil over her half-naked body. She began to blush again.
"Enough with modesty, girl," Taiitsukun spoke, her voice oddly commanding despite its croaking quality. "There is a lot to be explained."
The three individuals looked at each other grimly. Two of them hovered, sitting on thin air. Shizue straddled her desk chair, dressed and starting to regain her equilibrium. The room was dark to give her parents the idea that she was asleep after she had refused to come out for dinner, claiming illness. In a hushed voice, Taiitsukun had explained how the barrier between the two worlds seemed to have been breached one time too many in all the happenings, with Tenkou and all. Now, it seemed like the worlds were merging, gradually overlapping so that people, events, and places from both were jumbled together. There was no telling how things would progress, and how they might end.
"The legend of the Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho has been mapped onto your world," the goddess told the girl. "A new set of Seishi have been born, not guided by the stars, but by the earth, by this world. You are one of those Terran Seishi, Shizue. You are Riyuko, the Seishi of Truth."
She blinked. This was definitely way too much to digest. "But what am I... what are we supposed to do? Who are we supposed to protect? What are we supposed to summon?"
Taiitsukun pressed her lips into a line. "I do not know. Like anything in a system gone awry, the legend may be incomplete. However, if there is anyone who can restore the two worlds, it must be you," and she included Tomo in her gesture, "the Seishi of both worlds."
They looked at each other. Briefly, Shizue mused on the symmetry. Seishi of Illusion, Seishi of Truth? Someone out there had a twisted sense of humor.
"The threads of destiny are weak and tenuous," the old woman continued. "This was never meant to be. But you must do what you can, for the sake of all."
"I don't even know where to start," Shizue said, shaking her head.
A silence fell, as each of them tried to imagine what could be done as the world, so it seemed, slowly fell apart around them.
Suddenly, Shizue remembered an earlier conversation. "Taiitsukun, what was Nakago trying to do? I--I mean," she hurriedly went on, "I know what he wanted to do, but why? What did he mean by 'neutralize' me? And about being someone's vessel?"
"As the two worlds merge, so too can their Seishi. They can join in one body, sharing power and knowledge. But like a Miko of the Four Gods, one must be pure to accept the spirit of another. I cannot fathom why, but he clearly wished to prevent you from being able to merge with anyone."
"Do you think he knew something? To save the worlds, or to help destroy them, he must have had a reason and a basis for acting."
"Who can say?" It was Tomo who replied this time. "He'd never tell us, and we can hardly guess, so there's no sense in thinking about it."
"Hmm."
"In any case," said Taiitsukun, taking control of the discussion again, "you've already been given much to think about today. Rest. I will return tomorrow to give as much guidance as I can for your quest."
"Wait--quest?!" Shizue cried, but it was too late, the old woman had faded out. "Great," she muttered. "This is so not what I need in my life right now." She rubbed her eyes, elbows leaning on the chair back, wondering what in the world -- worlds -- she had been dragged into. She was beginning to fathom just a bit of Tomo's dislike for this thing called destiny.
Shizue didn't speak again until she had climbed into bed. Her mind was still racing, in such rapid circles that all she got out of it was nonsense. With an effort, though, she put aside the long list of questions she wanted to ask Taiitsukun, and instead picked up a different list.
"Where did you go?" she asked Tomo softly.
"To find answers."
"Did you?"
"I wonder."
"Hm?"
"I think," he clarified, "I found more questions than answers."
"It's always like that."
"Oh you don't know."
"So why did you come back?"
"I sensed a lot of ki being focused through Nakago. For him to expend that much effort, you must be pretty strong, or will be." Tomo idly wondered if all of the Terran Seishi would be that powerful. It was a bit unsettling to imagine, especially if they didn't even have a well-defined purpose.
"I don't even know what I can do," Shizue protested.
"Don't worry, you'll figure it out. We always do. It's your strength of spirit that you've already demonstrated."
"Hm."
Shizue was quiet for a moment, listening to her parents talking in the living room, the drone of the nightly news barely audible beneath it. It wasn't all that late, and although she was mentally exhausted, she didn't think she was going to get much sleep after all the excitement.
"How did you discover your powers?" she asked the Seiryuu Seishi.
"Huh?" Tomo was genuinely startled. No one had ever shown any curiosity about his background. He closed his eyes briefly, remembering. "I could show you," he said thoughtfully, fingering his Shin.
"But I thought your illusions didn't work on me."
"It will work on anyone if they don't resist it. Besides," he added, a sudden inkling of her powers coming to mind, "this is truth, not just an illusion."
"Mm," she nodded, seeing the conclusion he had reached.
"Remember, just don't resist," he said as he opened the clamshell.
Her vision misted white for a second, and when it cleared, she was running through a rustic village, past small huts and poorly dressed peasants. The view in front of her jarred up and down with the rhythm of her feet. She could hear her ragged breath in her ears, even feel the soreness in her feet and the burning in her lungs.
'Is this really just an illusion?' her mind wondered, impressed.
Tomo narrated quietly, his voice seemingly inside her head. "I was never popular as a child, but that day I managed to make the other children particularly angry." He didn't explain why. "I couldn't fight back, so I ran away."
She turned down a narrow alley between two houses, searching frantically for a place to hide. Finally, she wedged herself between two stacks of baskets, probably used during the harvest. The shadows were heavy, but anyone paying attention as he walked down the alley would notice her.
Sure enough, she heard the others' voices in the street, at the head of the alley. From the footsteps, she could tell that they had split up to find her, two of them coming her way. She huddled down, pulling her head under her arms, as if that could somehow make her disappear. "I just wished so hard for them not to see me..."
The boy in the lead passed the first pile and turned to look into the gap. Their eyes met, but he didn't react. In fact, he seemed to be looking through her to the wall beyond. His eyes scanned down to the ground, where she had scuffled the dirt in crouching down.
"What are you doing?" The second boy had caught up. He gave the shadowed hiding place a cursory glance, then turned back to his companion. "What are you looking at? There's no one here. Come on, let's go."
Shizue felt her mouth fall open in shock. As the two boys' footsteps faded into the distance, so too did the vision.
She blinked. She was in her bed again, staring up at the ceiling.
"That was the first time," Tomo completed. "But I didn't really understand what had happened. I thought maybe I just had the ability to make myself invisible or something, but I could never make it work again. The time I finally figured it out was when--" He paused, wondering how much he was willing to share. Everything he was telling her had been kept secret for so long, and what was the point of bringing up the past now, anyway?
Shizue prompted, "When?"
"When I left a door open and didn't want people to notice. Like before, people did notice, and said outright things that I knew weren't true." Just the relevant details. That was enough.
"I see." The girl could tell that this was a closed subject, and she didn't press.
She had simply be swamped with too much new information that day. All of her thoughts became like a soothing white noise, and she fell asleep even as she tried to remember more of the questions she had wanted to ask.
Tomo didn't bother to look over at her; by now he could tell she was asleep by her breathing. So this was what destiny had set him up for, he reflected. What a tangled web indeed. Of course he was no longer bound to stay, but he felt loath to leave her now, especially after having saved her, from a former comrade, no less. There would be no point to that exercise if he didn't follow up. He shook his head. How silly that destiny could make him stop blaming it and start blaming himself. But none of that changed the fact that he and this girl were now partners in saving the world.
"Shizue, are you feeling better? I made you breakfast."
She fought through her fragmented dreams towards that voice. When she finally woke up, her mother was at her bedside with a look of concern on her face. The smell of eggs and toast reminded her stomach that she hadn't had dinner the night before.
"Mm, yeah, I'm okay." She swallowed a few times to moisten her mouth, parched from sleep. "Thanks, Mom."
"Do take care of your health, dear. It wouldn't do to let it interfere with your schoolwork," the woman replied as she left, closing the door gently behind her.
Shizue groaned inwardly. Her parents had such one-track minds. For her, school was the last of her worries at the moment.
As if on cue, Tomo reappeared at that moment, accompanied by the ever imposing Taiitsukun. He was still wearing his face paint, which he hadn't removed after saving her from Nakago last night. Shizue wondered if she was the only person to whom he felt comfortable showing his natural face. For some reason, the idea made her feel shy and fluttery.
"I have something for you," Taiitsukun said, interrupting her thoughts. The old woman held out a round mirror the size of her palm, hanging by a loop of tasseled cord. "This will give you hints about the other Seishi." She anticipated the comment as Shizue opened her mouth. "Even if you don't yet know your purpose, the first objective is still to gather all of the Seishi."
The teenager grudgingly accepted the mirror, but protested, "I can't exactly wander around the country waiting for this thing to give me something."
"Of course not," Taiitsukun said, rather mildly. "The Terran Seishi are probably scattered throughout the world, and that mirror doesn't work by proximity."
"How does it work?" Tomo asked with interest. He had never participated in gathering chosen warriors, and hadn't read of it as Shizue had.
"I'm not certain. But these kinds of objects tap into the web of destiny, so they know things I cannot. You must trust it to guide you in its own way. I do not think it will ask any impossibilities of you."
"Hmph." Shizue was still distrustful.
Tomo, hovering behind the girl, reached over her shoulder to finger the surface of the mirror. He jerked back when it flashed white, and then two characters appeared in its depth.
All three of them leaned in to see. The background was uninterrupted black. The first character was written plainly in a glowing red. Chou, stretch. The second was fainter and blurry, as if smudged, written in white. Jutsu, skill.
"As cryptic as ever," Shizue muttered under her breath. And then the familiarity of the first character struck her. "'Chou'?! But that can't be!"
To be continued...
The original characters and situations in this work are copyright Elwen Skye. Please ask permission before reposting anywhere. Thank you.
Elwen Skye
quethiril@twin-elements.com
www.twin-elements.com
Notes: Yes, I am aware of the fact that "Terran Seishi" is an oxymoron. Deal with it. Also, the "cliffhanger" at the end of this chapter is rather weak and not really intended to leave you desperate for the next chapter or anything. The situation just reminded me of how manga chapters will end with someone coming to a realization and saying, "Masaka...!"
Finished: September 2, 2003