Disclaimer: I do not own Fushigi Yuugi, nor any character therein. They all belong to Yu Watase.
Chapter Four: Familiar Eyes
Love is not blind;
It is an extra eye which shows us what is most worthy of our regard.
- J.M. Barrie
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Tasuki looked down at the woman in his arms.
Covered in blood, sweat and dirt, Tasuki couldn't believe that without warning he was suddenly holding the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
'Miaka...!' he thought in a rush of emotion, his eyes which still stung from the smoke hanging in the air around them filling with tears.
'She's really here!'
"Mmm...Tasuki...?" she murmured groggily, her expression confused and strained.
Tasuki's heart skipped. It had been so long since he'd heard her say his name! He wanted nothing more than to hold her close and never let go again, but he knew he couldn't. He needed to get her out of here now before--
"Genrou!"
A large, heavy built man called out to him as he rode up, his horse skidding to a halt and sending fresh dirt sailing into the air.
"Kouji! Get Miaka out of here! Tell the men to head for the woods! We'll re-group at the pass!" Tasuki yelled, his voice barely audible above the sounds of battle raging around them.
Kouji nodded and reached out for the Priestess; but she held firm to Tasuki.
"No.. I'm not leaving you!" she protested with more force than Tasuki had expected, judging from her disoriented condition.
He pulled her upright, guiding her towards Kouji.
"I'm not askin'! Now go--!"
"Look out!" Kouji cried, but it was too late. An explosion had rocked the earth not twenty feet from where they were, the force sending both Tasuki and Miaka flying forwards. Tasuki managed to grab her as they went, his back shielding her from the heat of the blast. Smoke and debris rained down on them, and Tasuki heard Kouji yelling at the men to retreat.
Coughing violently, Tasuki gathered the Priestess in his arms and headed for the shelter of the trees. As soon as they were camouflaged within the spiky arms of the tall pines, he took her by the shoulders and checked her for injuries. His hands skimmed her arms, his keen eyes absorbing her dirt stained skin. He noted she still wore the simple gold chain and butterfly pendant she always had-- the sight made his breath catch in his chest.
God, he had missed her!
Trying to focus on the task at hand, Tasuki's eyes roamed down her torso, where her clothing was stained, and stretched over her stomach...
Tasuki's heart skipped painfully in his chest.
His hand gently flexed over her round belly as if it were made of the most fragile glass, his vision blurring as he felt an overwhelming mixture of joy and misery. For an instant, Tasuki wished with every fiber of his being that he were in Taka's place.
Miaka's moan snapped the world back into focus.
"Miaka!" he cried when she said nothing and slumped against him.
"Baka!" he cursed, sick with worry. Why hadn't she listened to him? And in her condition? She was still as damned stubborn as he remembered! Tasuki hoisted her up carefully into his arms again. He felt the wound he had sustained from an arrow pull open, and blood seep through the tunic he wore beneath his armor, but he felt numb. His mind focused utterly on getting her to safety, he sped through the dense woods, the cries and shouts growing dimmer and dimmer. When they had reached a deeper part of the wood, Tasuki slowed to a stop. His chest heaving he leant on a nearby tree, looking down into the face of the woman whom he remembered so vividly in his dreams.
Her cheeks were beginning to gain some of their natural color again, and slowly she opened the greenest eyes he'd ever seen. It was the most welcome sight he'd seen in a long time and he rested his head against the tree for a moment in relief.
"You almost got us killed... so don't say... I kidnapped you this time," Tasuki panted with the ghost of a grin. Miaka opened her dry lips, but couldn't reply. The world spun dizzyingly. Then, she felt warm lips brushing against her temple. She could have sworn she felt them again on her cheek, but she couldn't be sure. Wishing she could get her bearings, Miaka turned her head just in time to see it-- a soldier coming towards them, his red armor glinting in the sun.
'An Imperial Soldier of Konan,' Miaka realized through the fog that soaked her mind.
'Maybe they knew I was coming, and he will take us to the Emperor...' but her thoughts were silenced by the sound of a sword singing as it was unsheathed.
"Do not try to run!" the soldier called out, bringing up his curved blade and pointing it at them.
Tasuki's keen hearing picked up the sound of an bow being drawn back from somewhere to his left.
Shit! Were they surrounded? His gaze flickered around the thick trees, picking out a second soldier with a bow and arrow hidden just behind the younger one. Slowly, Tasuki relinquished the grip he'd formed on the hilt of his hip dagger, and drew his hands to his sides so both soldiers could see he was holding no weapon.
"You're just a kid. Why don't you go home. This doesn't have to involve you." Tasuki said, his voice hoarse from over use but kind.
"No!" the young soldier shouted urgently. Miaka could see his sword was trembling in his hands.
"I have my orders from the Emperor himself! Give me the Priestess, or you will die where you stand!"
'Me...? They want me?' Miaka thought with a twinge of panic.
Tasuki's face darkened.
"If I have to, I will kill you, boy." he growled warningly, subtly covering Miaka's hand with his and guiding it to his hips. Miaka's heart jumped. A hot flush spread across her cheeks, but she made no noise. Then, she felt it-- a hole in the fabric of his tunic, hidden between the slats of his armor. Miaka slid her hand inside and felt something papery meet her fingertips.
"You've had the opportunity to kill us," Tasuki was saying to the soldier, his eyes never leaving the boy's.
"Why don't you take it?"
Suddenly, Miaka understood. Tasuki wasn't simply goading the soldier, he was stalling for time and telling her to take whatever it was she had hold of in his pocket.
Drawing her hand out swiftly, the papers clutched in her fingers Miaka heard Tasuki's voice reverberate in her ears as he yelled something in a familiar language.
Instantly, the sound of blood curdling howls erupted into the wood, echoing in the air hauntingly. In the midst of snapping jaws and ravenous growls, Miaka saw the boy drop his sword in terror as a pack of enormous wolves ran straight for his throat.
Within the span of a heartbeat she was lifted into the air as Tasuki pulled her behind him in one fluid motion. She leaned against his back, her cheek resting against the smooth solid surface of his armor. Raising her head, she saw through bleary eyes as a second soldier emerged from the dense pines, a bow and arrow raised.
"Long live the Emperor!" the soldier cried, his bow drawn back.
Miaka felt Tasuki's muscles constrict and the soldier fell to his knees, dropping his bow, a dagger buried deep in his throat. Miaka's eyes widened, a hot flash of horror coursing through her veins.
"Tasuki...! What's happening-!" Miaka cried, unable to formulate words for the horrible sight she'd just witnessed. Instead of giving her an answer, Tasuki scooped her up into his arms again. The younger soldier had fled, the pack of illusionary wolves pounding after him and disappearing from sight.
"We have to make it to the pass!" Tasuki grunted as he hoisted Miaka up again.
"But--!"
"Just keep quiet and hold onto me!"
Miaka should have listened, for in an instant they were moving so quickly that she had to grab onto his longish braid to right herself.
Tasuki winced, trying to keep his eyes on the path he was forging. Pain shot through his skull, as Miaka used his braid like a guiding rudder.
'She's nothin' but trouble...' he thought, a mantra he had used frequently in the past eight years.
But his heart knew better. The longer he held her, the more it became blazingly apparent that her troubles were his troubles by choice. And now that he knew she was expecting a baby, he would make sure she got home safely as soon as possible. Steeling himself against the pain and swirling desire to drop her and kiss her again as he'd done not moments before, Tasuki sped towards the only safe haven he knew was close by. Making a veer to the left, Tasuki heard a frightened cry, and winced as his braid got another tugging.
'I missed you too, Miaka-baka...'
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"Yui? Yui, are you okay? Where's Miaka?"
Yui's hands were still trembling.
"She...she went back into the book," she said in a hushed voice as she made her way out of Tokyo International Airport.
"WHAT?"
She could hear scuffling on the other end of her cel phone, and then Tetsuya's voice came on the line.
"Yui, where are you? Do you have it?"
"Yeah, I have it. I'm right outside baggage claim 4."
"We're almost there. Hang on."
Yui snapped her phone shut. She drew her purse up to her chest, hugging it and the book within. She had been reading it ever since the plane took off, and the last lines that had appeared as a bright red brand on the white pages:
The celestial Warrior Tasuki defended the Priestess from her enemy, slaying him.
With the howls of the sacred wolves of Mt. Reikaku still ringing in the air, the warrior took his Priestess to the safety of the Cave of Seven Souls...
'Enemy...!' Yui had thought to herself in alarm.
'Since when did the Imperial Army of Konan turn against Miaka...?'
She had waited for more lines to reveal themselves, but so far none had.
With a screeching of tires, a blue Toyota Accord pulled up to the curb and stopped abruptly. The door swung open and Keisuke poked his head out, wearing large black sunglasses.
"Quick! Get in!" he hissed, barely waiting until Yui was inside the car before reaching over her to slam the door shut.
"Go!" he urged Tetsuya, who was sitting in the drivers seat munching on a bean cake.
"I missed you, darling." he said with a wink in the rear view mirror at Yui.
Keisuke sank lower in his seat.
"Subtle, Keisuke." Yui said dryly, removing the sunglasses from his face and pulling her seat belt on as the Toyota pulled out from the curb.
She waited until they were safely out of sight of the airport, then reached into her bag and took out the Universe of the Four Gods.
"I can't believe she did it," Keisuke said quietly, looking at the book as if it were a dangerous weapon.
"Read this," Yui said, opening the book and turning to the last page of text.
She read the last lines out loud, and saw Tetsuya frown in the rear view mirror as he kept his gaze trained on the road.
"But I thought the Emperor was Hotohori's son. Why would he want to harm Miaka...?"
Yui shuddered slightly at the disturbing thought.
"I have no clue. I've been waiting for more text to appear, but so far nothing."
" 'The cave of Seven Souls'...?" Keisuke read aloud, having gotten over his initial fear in favor of curiosity and concern for his sister. The book was now in his lap as he read the line over.
Yui shook her head.
"I don't remember hearing anything about a cave of any souls when I was in Konan."
"Then perhaps they aren't in Konan," Tetsuya said quietly, thinking aloud.
"But why would the Imperial Army of Konan and Tasuki, a Celestial Warrior be fighting each other in a foreign country?" Yui asked.
An eerie silence permeated the car, each occupant thinking that whatever the reason was, it did not look good.
"Yui...!" Keisuke suddenly gasped, his whole body jerking.
"What is it?" she cried, leaning over to look at the book still clutched in Keisuke's lap.
"It's.. it's writing something!"
Both Yui and Keisuke watched transfixed as a thin wisps of red light appeared on the open page, forming words with startling speed.
"What does it say?" asked Tetsuya, afraid to take his eyes off the traffic but rabid with worry.
Yui, her heart pounding in her throat, began to read.
As the sky donned the veil of dusk, the Celestial Warrior and his Priestess reached the Cave of Seven Souls. Hidden within its cavern, they had no premonition of the danger that lay in wait for them, or of the cloaked figure who would soon reveal himself as a man of virtue in disguise...
Yui raised her eyes slowly to meet the frightened glances of both Keisuke and Tetsuya.
Somehow, they had to warn them.
But as the familiar red light lit up the car again, Yui wondered hopelessly if they were already too late.
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The chairman of the board of directors for the National Museum of China was sweating profusely. How could this have happened? They had just installed a supposedly 'hack free' security system, not to mention it had cost the government over five million dollars.
"I .. I can assure you, Mr. H'tes that your property will be found as soon as possible."
The tall man looked at the smaller one and stroked his mustache thoughtfully.
"I will not be needing your assistance anymore, chairman." he said in excellent Chinese, although the chairman could pick up traces of an accent that was impossible to place. The chairman had also wondered at the strangeness of his last name-- a name that was not by any means Chinese. But as the polite business man had provided the proper identification and had donated a very large sum to the Museum, so no one had questioned his familial claims any further. According to the scant information the chairman's assistants were able to gather, the son of the best curator the National museum had ever known had been a student studying in Cairo for the past five years before his father's death. The chairman guessed that the son had taken an Egyptian name for some personal reason. His inquiries as to what the son's activities were during his years away from China ceased however when it became clear that they were gaining a very wealthy, very influential donor to help fund the museums pursuits.
"My father's discovery is safe, for the time being. Now, it is only a matter of getting it back."
The chairman felt a rush of relief and dread at once.
"Then, you know where it has been taken?"
Mr. H'tes smiled, although the gesture made the chairman more nervous than ever.
"Indeed, I have." he said pleasantly.
The chairman fumbled over his thoughts, each one of which made him more and more sure that despite the business man's politeness, he was in deep trouble.
"Ooh? And where is it you're going to get it back?" he asked, desperate to glean any information he could that might help his situation.
Mr. H'tes inclined his head.
"Japan." he said.
TBC...!
A/N: Thanks to everyone that read and reviewed! I really appreciate any feedback you give! I'm busy writing chapter six and editing chapter five, so hopefully they should be out within the next week or so. Thanks again, and have a great week!