Disclaimer: I do not own FY, or any characters therein. They all belong to Yu Watase. Sorry about the chapter format, I had to upload this chapter using Word Pad so I had to manually go through it and change the format... eeep. Anywhos, hope you enjoy it! Please review! Ooh! And I am starting to work on a Hotohori/Miaka fic as well! Watching the FY episodes again have inspired me!
Dedication: This chapter is for my sister, who always reads my babblings and gives me hope for the future.
Chapter Seven: The Virtuous Man
To know the road ahead, ask those coming back.
- Chinese Proverb
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Tasuki covered Miaka's hands with his, trying to push them away. "Stop your fussin'...I'm fine." he managed gruffly, even as he tried to rise but swayed weakly. Miaka grabbed his shoulders and pushed him back down firmly.
"Why didn't you tell me you were hurt?" she asked angrily, her hands shaking with worry as she fumbled to undo the leather ties that held up his breast plate. Tasuki raised his eyebrows; it was quite a shock to see this unusually brusque side of Miaka. It also made him appreciate how much she still reminded him of the energetic girl she had been. "I was... just thinkin'.." Tasuki said with a lazy grin, watching her as she untied his armor. "Well stop it, and save your strength!" Miaka countered in a gentler tone, slipping off the slats of red metal and leather. As she did, she noticed for the first time the small jade beads woven into the leather.
With a start, she recognized them.
They were indicative of rank, and suggested that Tasuki was not only a member of the cavalry, but an officer as well. Hotohori had made a point to show her all the suits of armor worn by his ancestors, and she had never forgotten the lessons he'd taught her. "Jade worn over the heart denotes a great honor. It is only a Shogun...a General's privilege..." she remembered Hotohori explaining as they had walked together through the royal ancestral tombs. 'Tasuki.. is a General...!' Miaka thought with a mixture of awe. 'No wonder he looks so tired...' she reflected as she slipped off the oppressive plating. Miaka contained a breath of horror as she saw that his tunic was soaked with blood. Realizing that it might make the bleeding worse if he had to sit up, her mind raced o find another way to get his tunic off. 'His boot! He always used to carry a knife in his boot!'
Still dizzy from the shock of the past few minutes, Miaka slid down towards his feet, slipping her hand inside the back of his left boot. Sure enough, he still wore it where she remembered. He continued to watch her with mild amusement, but his face was becoming increasingly pale. Miaka's heart jumped in alarm when she saw his eye lids begin to drift shut groggily. "What were you thinking about?" she asked, trying to keep him alert and conscious. Tasuki's face relaxed, and a dreamy glimmer burned within his eyes. "I was thinkin' 'bout Hotohori's peaches..." he said reverently, his words beginning to slur. Miaka paused in her ministrations. 'How could he possibly have known that I was just thinking about the very same thing? It must be a coincidence...'
"Do you remember, Mi-chan...?" Tasuki continued, interrupting her unnerving thoughts. "You were sad 'cause Tamahome was gone," he said darkly, his face contorting with anger for a moment as he gazed at Miaka's hands which were now moving the dagger beneath his tunic. "I would 'ave killed him myself, if I hadn't thought you would 've killed me first," he laughed croakily, wincing and clutching at his chest as the movements caused his wound to twinge. "Oi--what're you gonna do with my knife...?" he asked dazedly, and Miaka picked up a hint of apprehension in his voice. "I'm going to take your shirt off," Miaka said with determination, her gaze focused on her task as she gripped the knife.
Despite his pallid complexion, Tasuki's eyes sparkled mischievously and his mouth broke into a grin. "If I'da known gettin' hit by an arrow was what it took for you t'want t'take my shirt off, I'd 'ave done it more often." Miaka fixed him with a stern look, and tore his tunic up the middle with the knife. Tasuki's breathing quickened; a reaction that had nothing to do with the pain. "Lie back Romeo," she teased gently, peeling the tunic back carefully from his skin. Tasuki hissed slightly as the fabric stuck to his skin, a mixture of blood and sweat acting like glue. He lay back in a rare moment of obedience, his gaze traveling to the dark muddy ceiling of the cave.
In the silence, he could hear drops of water echo as they hit the moist floor. His eyes drifted shut as he felt her fingertips graze the flesh of his ribs, just below where the arrow had hit. Ever since he had kissed her forehead back in the woods there had been a burning need building within his body, and he clenched his fists tight to control the urges that raced through his brain. 'She belongs to Taka. She's not yours, and never was...' he repeated within his mind over and over. Yet something within his heart had shifted, and refused to stop the rush of words now forming on his dry lips. "Do you remember all those years ago, when I brought you peaches? You were.. so small. You cried a lot. I hated seeing you cry...Nuriko ..said if I went into your room, I'd only make things worse..." Miaka only half listened to his voice, which had become thick with the accent he had been so teased about by the other Suzaku Seishi. 'He must be losing his inhibitions,' Miaka thought with worry. She knew from the first aid classes she'd taken many summers ago that loss of blood had almost the same effect on the body as being inebriated.
Miaka felt sweat break out on her forehead as she surveyed his wound. To her immense relief, the bleeding seemed to have stopped. There was no arrow debris to be found, but the flesh left around the wound made her wonder if he had ripped it out himself. She winced at the thought. Then, she let her eyes roam across his bare torso-- and was shocked at what she saw. His skin was a mass of old scars and red marks that spoke of a man who bore the brunt of too many weapons and attacks.
'What have you been through in these past months?' she thought. Tears blurred her vision as she realized that due to the time discrepancy between her world and the book, she was not looking at a months worth of scars, but years worth.
"You didn't make things worse," she answered softly, gathering up her mauve jacket and slicing through the fabric with the knife to make binding strips. "You made me feel better than I had in days...better than Taka ever--" but she stopped, a mixture of guilt and freedom surging through her. Tasuki was looking at her with an odd expression, as if he were looking at a picture of her, instead of flesh and blood. "You could always make me laugh," Miaka said quickly, smiling through her tears and taking the water flask off his hip to douse the strips in cool water. Gently she washed away the blood around his wound careful not to disturb it and cause it to bleed again. Her brow furrowed in concentration, she didn't notice when Tasuki caught a wayward curl of her hair between his fingers. He let it go as she blew a sigh past her lips. "This wound will need stitches," she said, glancing up at him. "I can bind it, but if we don't get you to a doctor soon it may start bleeding again...Tasuki?" Miaka said in alarm, placing a hand on his forehead.
His skin was as cold as ice, yet sweat dampened his temples. Miaka knew she had to get his body temperature back up, and fast.
Quickly, she shed her camisole so that only she was clad only in her under blouse. Goosebumps erupted along her bare arms and her teeth chattered from a mixture of cold and nerves as she settled down beside the much bigger bandit. Wrapping her arms around him as she lay down, Miaka began to rub his arms, back and shoulders. "Tasuki, you have to stay awake," she said as calmly as she could manage, worried when she felt no response. She pulled back to look at him and found his eyes were still closed. "Tasuki, do you remember the time you stole Chichiri's shrinking potion?" She waited for a response, her heart pounding in her throat. Then, she felt his arms slowly wrap around her. Miaka began to rub them, feeling the cold begin to recede from his skin. Tasuki sighed, and she could hear his chest wheezing with the effort. Worriedly, she felt his temple again. His skin was slowly returning to its normal temperature, she she kept rubbing his back gently. Suddenly, she felt his hands press gently into her back as his eyes opened slowly; they were dark amber, the color of a burnt sunset.
Trapped within his intense gaze, Miaka tried to calm herself.
'It's Tasuki...my Tasuki, my Seishi, my friend. The boy who used to catch fireflies with me at the palace. The boy wou would wrestle with me and tug on my ponytails...' she chanted silently, but the feel of his body, hard and growing increasingly warm against her made her mind slip into a pool of unanswered questions. Resisting the urge to look away,
Miaka let him watch her. Almost nose to nose, she felt her heart melt as he seemed to consider her for a moment. Then his mouth parted in a familiar, boyish lop-sided grin. "How could I forget? I'm still impressed as hell that Mitsukake was able to run that fast, bein' so ...tiny," he said hoarsely, his voice still thin from loss of blood.
His amber eyes danced with mirth.
Miaka felt laughter bubble up within her chest as the memory of a shrunken, furious Mitsukake chased a surprised, alarmed Tasuki around the palace courtyard. Tasuki at first had laughed his head off as Mitsukake, shrunken to the size of a toddler had waddled after the bandit in an unusual display of fury. Tasuki had become worried though when the tiny Seishi had actually begun to catch up with him, wielding Hotohori's sword all the while. "Nuriko always said he'd never seen you look so terrified," Miaka said as Tasuki gave a hearty laugh that must have strained his tender chest. His whole face seemed to light up, the worry lines that suffused his normally impish features crinkling in the corners of his eyes.
Miaka felt her breath catch; his face held a wild beauty.
Her body tingled with happiness. Lying here, wrapped together and laughing as they used to made her feel as though the changes she saw in him were only ripples on the surface. She caught glimpses of something deeper within his eyes when he looked at her. Something forbidden that refused to remain unseen.
Miaka wondered if he saw it reflected in her own eyes.
She felt his arms squeeze her gently, his smile broadening. "Wha'd he used to call me...? Nuriko, I mean? A boor..." Tasuki said eagerly, his brow furrowing as he tried to recall the insult as though it were a hilarious joke. He hadn't felt this good in years. It had been so long since he'd spoken of his fellow Seishi! So long since he'd been able to look back on those days and feel pride, not apprehension. It made him feel like something worthy; not a criminal. "A depraved, unrefined boor with all the grace of a herd of oxen!" Miaka finished for him in a fine Nuriko-like imitation, lifting her chin into the air in mock haughtiness. "Such lovin' memories," Tasuki sighed, and Miaka laughed softly. They were so close, their noses brushed together innocently. A bolt of fire licked through her, and she parted her lips in an effort to release the knot that tightened within her throat. Somehow, his hand was now resting against her neck, his thumb tracing lightly against her cheek. His eyes were dark, his expression almost demanding.
Unsure of what his gaze meant, Miaka lifted herself from his embrace.
He was very warm now, and as she reached for her shredded jacket she felt her cheeks flush. Suddenly, the urge to tell him just how much she'd thought about these past months came back full force. With carefully gathered restraint and an impish smile, she turned to look back over her shoulder at him. "Mm.. such loving memories of you getting me into trouble!" Tasuki hauled himself up indignantly on his elbows despite Miaka's protests that he should lie still. "You gettin' into trouble! HAH! I always got the short end of the fuckin' lip-stick-- everyone said I was a bad influence on their 'innocent blossom'. Peh!"
Miaka felt her cheeks flush.
"...Blossom?" she questioned. Tasuki quirked an eyebrow and the corner of his mouth turned upwards in a small smile. "Hotohori's exact words, not that I'd argue with him." Miaka's heart twinged at Tasuki's words, the happy memories suddenly making her breath catch as they were replaced with more painful ones. All at once Hotohori's gentle smile and soft voice surrounded her. Memories of his embrace rushed back to her, his eyes always a warm inviting golden. They had been eyes which shone with an irrepressible inner beauty, and a deep sadness. Miaka remembered looking into Boushin's eyes and seeing that same wistful spirit. How much Boushin looked like his father-- so much like Hotohori!
She swallowed the lump that rose in her throat. Tasuki watched her silently, his smile fading. He wanted to comfort her, to tell her how much he missed Hotohori as well- how much he missed all his comrades. But the words never came. Miaka struggled against a wave of tears as she focused on Tasuki's wound. A void ached within her chest at the loss of her friends, and against her will to remain strong she found her gaze rising to meet Tasuki's. His expression made the tears she'd been holding back impossible to control. Wiping a hand across her cheeks, she looked back at him and knew that no words were needed. Together, they grieved silently for their friends. Reaching out, Miaka placed her hand ontop of his. Tasuki felt his spirit soar far above his broken body. Her touch was like a healing balm, that soothed his frayed mind. After living all these years with nightmares he couldn't rid himself of, having her near was a gift from Suzaku himself. Somehow, even in a dark dank cave, just being with Miaka was enough to make him sure that his fellow warriors were with them too.
"I'm so glad your alright, Tasuki..." Miaka said softly, pressing her hand against his. Tasuki felt his body stiffen, and his heart begin to race. "When I saw you in that battle..." she stopped, closing her eyes against the tears that threatened to fall. "I was so scared I'd lose you..." Tasuki's hand squeezed hers back, so tightly that she opened her eyes to look at him in concern. He was looking at her with such fierceness, it made her draw back slightly. "You haven't lost them, Miaka. They're still here with you. Don't worry about me. I'll die before I let anythin' happen to you." Miaka felt ice curl around her heart; the nightmare in which Tasuki, bathed in blood in the heat of battle swam before her eyes. He had died in that dream.
She'd seen it happen.
But it was just a dream... and he was with her now, his warm hand still gripping hers as if to reassure her that he wasn't going anywhere. His hand... It was making her feel hot, and suddenly very aware of how close they were. Unable to sit still anymore under his heated gaze and knowing that she had to get his wound bound tightly, Miaka slipped her hand from his and shifted to kneel behind his head, resting her hands on his shoulders. Wanting to avoid his heated gaze and knowing that she had to get his wound bound tightly, she slipped her hands onto his shoulders.
"You can sit up now," she said, smiling as he looked up at her upside down with a frown. "Mmph. Now she wants me to sit up. You sure there isn't anything else of mine you want to cut up? That was my good tunic..." Tasuki grumbled, rising awkwardly onto his elbows. "I'm glad to hear you back to your old curmudgeon-ee self." Miaka teased as she slipped her arms around his waist and helped him sit up. Taking to the task of ripping what was left of her once glorious garment, Miaka slipped the cloth around his chest to bind the wound. Miaka felt her heart flutter at their renewed, and very subtle contact. Every time she leaned against his back and reached around to draw the cloth across his chest, she felt his muscles stiffen.
They were both silent for a moment, and then Tasuki's voice drifted back to her. "Got to say-- I like it better when you do this. Kouji's hands are all rough and clammy."
Miaka grinned in amusement, picturing Kouji kneeling behind Tasuki and trying to beat him over the head with the flimsy strips of fabric. "You and Kouji-san do this sort of thing often, then...?" she teased, her nervousness at their close proximity diminishing.
"Only since you left. Got no one else to do it. But it's not the same. You have a soothin' touch."
Miaka beamed, tying the pieces of fabric together tightly across his back so they wouldn't slip off. Impulsively, she reached around and hugged him, her head resting against his back. "I missed you, Tasuki-chan..." she said softly into the channel between his shoulder blades, half dreading his reply. What if he hadn't thought about her as often as she'd thought about him? It was a selfish thought, yet Miaka couldn't help it.
She embraced him fully, sinking against his back. She could feel the bond they'd shared flowing through her and giving her the courage to be candid at last. "Miaka..." he said quietly after a moment, "be honest with me. You're not just sayin' that 'cause you think I'm a dyin' man?" His voice was serious, but she saw a half smile light up his profile. Still knelt behind him, Miaka's chuckle caught in her throat as she suddenly felt his hands capture hers, locking her in their hugging position. Miaka's first reaction was to shy away, but slowly she began to feel herself relax as the warmth of his nearness soaked through her nervousness. She felt his pulse beating erratically beneath her palms which he still held in place over his chest.
Slowly, Miaka bent her head, letting it rest once again on the curve of his shoulder blades.
'He's so warm...just like I imagined,' Miaka thought, her cheeks flushing with the realization that it was he who had always held her after her nightmares. He had never left her, even after the book had. Even if it had been only been within her imagination, she knew that somehow he had always been watching over her. She felt his muscles clench reflexively as she pressed her chest fully against his back. Tasuki's heart skipped the feel of her softness commanding what little blood he had left in his brain spiral downwards. He felt trapped within his own need to touch her and his duty which told her she wasn't his to touch. Yet with her so close that he could feel the contours of her body beneath her clothing Tasuki's reservations were quickly dissolving, as were his inhibitions.
"What would you have done?" he asked in a murmur, the intensity of his voice making Miaka shiver.
"What do you mean?" Miaka asked softly, her mouth pressed against his bare shoulder as she spoke. The sensation of her lips touching his bare skin shattered Tasuki's last resolve; a resolve that had kept him from asking her this particular question for eight years.
"If I'd kissed you." he said huskily, unable to hide the fervor in his voice as his hands gently began to massage hers.
"What would you've done?" Miaka let her eyes slip shut. How many times had she relived those moments where they'd almost but not quite kissed? Too many times to let him keep believing that they had been mistakes. "I would have kissed you back," she said after a moment, her voice strained as tears filled her eyes. It was impossible to deny it to herself any longer.
She loved him in a way that went beyond the bonds of friendship.
It was simple, and at the same time complicated to the point where she was terrified to give in completely to the euphoria. He was a part of her childhood. He knew a part of her that was only brought to life around him. How could she tell him how much she loved him, that it was the mere memory of him that had finally shown her that she could never love Taka the same way...
When she was terrified she might lose him?
Miaka held her tears back, for the moment disregarding her fears and letting his soothing touch be her answer. Tasuki let her words sink deeply into his battered mind, soothing away old scrapes and scars that until that moment had refused to heal. With a rush of emotions too intense to define he brought her hand to his mouth. Turning it over, he pressed his lips to her palm. Tasuki felt her sharp intake of breath, and suddenly the reality of what he'd just kindled burst into flame around him. Slowly, he placed light kisses on the skin of her palm and wrist, occasionally punctuating them with a more firm, urgent one. Miaka couldn't help but let out a soft sigh as his lips left her wrist. Turning to look over his shoulder at her, Tasuki tilted his head back in search of her mouth. He found her so close, he could feel her breath fan his cheeks. Inches from what he wanted, Tasuki felt his body shake with it as his need to pull her into his lap and kiss her mounted.
And that's precisely what he would have done, if not for the monumentous crash that erupted right beside them.
A burst of wet air followed the crash, and as Tasuki reached for Miaka to pull her into the shelter of his arms, his free arm went straight for his boot knife...which wasn't there. With a spattering of curses, Tasuki groped around for it wondering where the hell Miaka could have put it. Miaka's cry caused his gaze to snap up and lock onto their un-invited visitor. Whoever it was, he would wring their neck like a spring chicken for interrupting what would have been the best moment of his life...
"Sorry for being late, no da!" said the visitor, taking off his large, round bamboo hat and mask before turning to face them. His face flushed as he locked his good eye on them. "Although perhaps I should have sent a message first..."
"Chichiri...!" Miaka exclaimed, still entangled within Tasuki's arms. Miaka looked extremely flustered, and Tasuki looked murderous as he tried to get to his feet. Miaka immediately slipped her arm around his waist to help steady the bandit, who looked like he was trying his best not to lean on her for support. "Its wonderful to see you again, Miaka-chan!" Chichiri said earnestly, bowing his head in respect. "..And you of course, Tasuki-san. I hope your injury is not serious." Tasuki fixed a thunderous glare on the monk, his lips taught. Pushing Miaka's arms gently away, he tried to stand on his own but held back a wince as he felt his knees wobble under the strain.
"You!" Tasuki growled threateningly, taking an awkward step towards the monk. "How dare you show your face to me again, after the shit you pulled!"
Chichiri's expression hardened, but his voice remained passive. "Tasuki-san, if you'll let me explain--"
"Fuck your excuses!" Tasuki exploded, nearly toppling over as he threw his arm out furiously.
"You gave me your promise as a Seishi, and without a word you just disappear the night before battle! Do you know how many men I lost on the journey from Konan? You said we'd find the key that would turn the tide of war in our favor. You brought us to this fuckin' hell hole, and I trusted you!"
Chichiri remained calm, although his face was downcast. Miaka could sense that behind his veneer of calmness, he was immensely distressed. She couldn't bear to watch it anymore. "Tasuki, that's enough!" she exclaimed heatedly.
"Stay outta this, Miaka..." Tasuki said warningly, without looking at her.
"No, I won't!" she shot back defiantly, feeling triumphant when Tasuki tore his gaze away from the monk to look at her.
"You don't know--" Tasuki began, but Miaka beat him to it.
"I know he's our friend!" she said fiercely, hurt that Tasuki would suddenly become so hostile, but unwilling to let him intimidate her. "Give him the chance to talk or you'll end up regretting the fact that you were such an arrogant jerk, you didn't let him tell you the truth!"
Tasuki's eyes widened, his body seeming to bristle with conflicting urges; to either continue arguing with her, or listen to his instincts which were saying that Chichiri probably did have a good reason for what he did. Grinding his teeth, Tasuki looked back at Chichiri and nodded.
Chichiri looked up, and focused first on Miaka, then back to his fellow Seishi.
"I am sorry I had to leave you on the eve of battle, Tasuki-san. Especially since it was on my advice that you left Konan to come here in search of the answer to our prayers."
"Yeah, well if there was an answer I must've missed it," Tasuki cut in dryly despite Miaka's warning look.
Chichiri smiled softly.
"You didn't miss it, no da. She's standing right in front of us."
Miaka felt her cheeks burn as brightly as Suzaku's fiery wings as both men turned to gaze at her. One wore an expression of understanding and pride on his unmasked face, while the other looked as if he'd just been told the world was triangular.
Chichiri broke the silence first, twirling his round bamboo hat every now and then between his hands. "When I first contacted Taiitsukun, she told me that in order to defeat the armies of the Emperor I would need to go to the land of Sairou. She said that here in Sairou we would find the answer to our prayers. At first I thought perhaps she spoke of a weapon, or powerful magical object; I had no idea she was referring to Miaka-chan."
Her head spinning, Miaka thought immediately of the nightmares she'd experienced before coming back to the Universe of the Four Gods. In those nightmares, she had been searching for Suzaku, but had found a terrifying creature instead. Wanting to tell her Seishi this but knowing that Chichiri had to explain his actions to Tasuki first, she continued to listen and said nothing.
"However," Chichiri said clearly as he gazed at Tasuki, "The Emperor somehow discovered our plans, and sent an army after us. I don't think he realized that the object of which Taiitsukun spoke was actually the Priestess of Suzaku, but I think he feared that somehow we would find a way to summon her back to us. I regret that I had to leave you, Tasuki the night we were to confront Konan's army in battle but... I was summoned to Mt. Taikyoku."
Tasuki's eyes widened his expression of anger softening at Chichiri's words and his voice full of hope.
"You mean.. you actually found Mt. Taikyoku again..? It's still there?"
"It is," Chichiri said gently. "And I have been sent by Taiitsukun to bring Miaka to her immediately."
"I would love to see Taiitsukun again," Miaka said, stepping forwards to stand beside Tasuki. "I wanted to come back. I needed to see you both..."
"Miaka," Tasuki said in a voice that she knew to mean he was about to disagree with her, "It's dangerous. For the past eight years there's been a bloody civil war between Konan and the rest of the four provinces. The Emperor's turned against the four Gods and now says all of our world should be united under one God. The temples have been destroyed, and anyone who's found worshipping the Four Gods or their Priestess is arrested for treason."
"But how could this have happened? Boushin is Hotohori's son!" Miaka exclaimed with dismay, but Tasuki merely shook his head.
"He's not Hotohori's son anymore. He's become a man; a man who's beencorruptedby his thirst for land; he's already conquered Kutou and the southern armies of Hokkan. Konan is being torn apart by his greed an' lust for power."
"Which is why Miaka must come with me to Mt. Taikyoku. Taiitsukun needs to see her righ away--" Chichiri began but Tasuki cut him off fiercely.
"Which is why Miaka should be on her way home now! The Emperor will know by now that Miaka did manage to get back, and he's going to use everythin' he's got to get to her."
"But I can no longer Summon Suzaku," Miaka said, wondering how she could possibly help them.
"Taiitsukun believes otherwise," Chichiri said directly to Miaka. Tasuki looked angrily from one to the other, furious that neither seemed to be taking heed of his warnings.
"Miaka did her duty in summoning Suzaku once, and she almost died! We have no right to ask her again! This isn't her war!"
"It became my war the moment I agreed to become the Priestess," Miaka said softly, and Chichiri smiled as he saw Tasuki turn to look at her with a mixture of admiration and concern.
"Miaka..." Tasuki began sternly, but he stopped when she slipped her hand into his. He clenched his jaw shut tightly, savoring her tiny hand as it squeezed his reassuringly.
"After all we've been through.. all we've shared...I could never leave knowing you both are in danger...I will go with you to see Taiitsukun, Chichiri-san. What ever it is she needs to tell me, I'm sure it will help us understand what's happened to the Emperor."
'And why I've been having such strange nightmares.' she added silently, anticipation giving her new found energy.
Chichiri bowed his head, his grip on his bamboo hat tightening. When he looked up, his good eye was shining with emotion. Silently, Chichiri held out his hand. Slipping from Tasuki's, side Miaka made her way to the monk and took it. Tasuki watched them, torn between a pang of jealousy and happiness that once again all three of them were together.
"We must hurry before its too late," Chichiri said urgently. Miaka frowned, reaching out to grasp both her hands around Chichiri's cold one.
"Chichiri.. what is it?" she asked. For the first time, Miaka thought she caught a flicker of fear pass through Chichiri's clear blue eye.
"It's Taiitsukun. She's dying." he said.
TBC...!
A/N: This is for you Vegetas :)) I hope you liked it! I re-edited it like mad to get it posted tonight! Thank you so much to all who reviewed, or didn't review, but read it anyways! This story is so much fun to write, and I hope I can continue it soon. Thanks again! (I'll probably be re-editing it again.. lol, I'm never satisfied I tell you!) Please feel free to leave any critiques or comments!