Art of Love

Red Courage

Chapter Ten

Miaka dropped the book to reach across the desk and hugged Chiriko to her tightly. "Chiriko!" Across the room there was sudden muffled whispering and the sound of papers shuffling from students who witnessed their exchange. Miaka closed her eyes. She knew the propriety of the situation looked pretty heinous, but she didn't care.

Chiriko's arms came up to return the embrace as he chuckled nervously. "It's me, Miaka. For real."

Miaka hugged him tighter for an instant before releasing him, her hands clasping his shoulders. "We're almost all back together again."

Chiriko blushed, looking down, gazing rather fixedly at the copy of the Kama Sutra that had fallen open across Miaka's desk. Miaka followed his gaze and brought a hand to her lips, stifling a gasp.

That looked…interesting. Miaka leaned a little closer to see the pair of positions depicted, unable to look away or force herself to close the book. "Oh my." How did that woman get her leg to do that? Didn't that hurt?

Chiriko unexpectedly slammed the book closed, covering it discretely with one of the law books, red still staining his cheeks. "I-I have no idea how that got there." He seemed acutely unable to make eye contact now as Miaka stared at him in bewilderment.

Was he… could he possibly be… embarrassed? Miaka hid her smile as she thanked Suzaku that she wasn't the only one nervous. Poor Chiriko had been the youngest of her warriors and had died before he'd even had the chance to hit puberty. Looking at him now, Miaka could only admire the fine young man he'd grown into. "How old are you now, Chiriko?" She asked gently, trying to distract him.

"Twenty-two." He mumbled, tucking an errant strand of hair behind an ear.

"More than old enough to be checking out this book." Miaka smiled encouragingly. She refused to make Chiriko feel bad about wanting to learn more. It was sweet and endearing to boot. "It's nothing to be embarrassed about," She insisted, trying to ignore the fact that the whole reason he was checking the book out was…

Right. Miaka swallowed. Chiriko was number seven. Well, number six, really. Since Mitsukake still hadn't been awakened. As soon as they managed to gather all seven Seishi, they were going to have to… She shook her head to rid it of those thoughts. "How did you even remember? Have you been here this whole time?" She hadn't even done anything!

Chiriko rubbed the back of his head with a nervous laugh. "Kinda. My study group meets here twice a week." He shot a look over his shoulder at the group of students watching avidly from their table. One of them responded with an enthusiastic thumbs up. Chiriko coughed and turned away to face Miaka again.

"And you never thought to come over and say 'hi'?" Miaka said incredulously. From the way his friends were acting, this had been going on for a while! Really, she was more upset at herself. One of her warriors had been under her nose for weeks and she hadn't noticed.

Chiriko looked at his feet. "Well, you know, I had my bar exam to study for…And you've just gotten so beautiful. I was kind of nervous to come up and talk to you."

Miaka choked. "You were nervous to talk to me?"

Her seventh Seishi nodded bashfully and beneath the extra two feet of height, the new muscles, and the deeper voice, Miaka could see the remnants of the boy she'd known in Konan. His eyes were hazel-green, similar to hers, but they held a solemn wisdom that Miaka seldom saw in even the most tenured professors.

"I'm glad you did." Miaka smiled. "You're so tall now! I'm surprised I recognized you."

"Thank you, Priestess." Chiriko grinned, playfully pulling up a sleeve and flexing a bicep. "I lift, can you tell?"

The formerly stick thin arms were toned and strong. "For a bookworm, you're pretty fit!" Miaka complimented him, impressed.

Beaming proudly, Chiriko said, "I used to get picked on as a kid so I started going to the gym. I bet I could even give Tasuki a run for his money now!"

Miaka burst into giggles. Chiriko had always been close to the bandit. Had Chiriko lived, she could have seen Tasuki mentoring the younger Seishi in how to fight—probably closely supervised by Chichiri and/or Mitsukake. "I bet you could!" It struck her then that he'd chosen to be reborn so that he was of age with Tamahome and Tasuki, two years older than her. She'd originally been two years older than him.

Leaning close to him, Miaka whispered, "Chiriko would you want to come home with me later? Everyone will be so excited to see you."

"Of course, Priestess. Who else has been awakened?" His face fell. "Don't tell me I'm the last one again!"

"Yes and no. Technically we ran into Mitsukake at the hospital, but he doesn't have his memories back yet," Miaka sighed. "He already treated an injury of mine. If that didn't do it, I don't know what will!"

He also, Miaka knew, had never been in love with her. His one true love had been Shouka. Miaka wondered if she'd also been reborn into this world or if Mitsukake had given up his chance to be reunited with her in order to summon Suzaku again.

She hoped desperately that had not been the case.

Chiriko made a thoughtful sound, a finger pressed to his lips. "I knew Mitsukake pretty well. I think I can help."

"Really? How?" Miaka raised an eyebrow in curiosity, but at this point, she was willing to try anything.

"Do we have time for a stop at the hospital before heading to your place?"

"That shouldn't be too much of a problem. Why?"

A slow smile crept across Chiriko's face, making him look rather devious. "Just trust me. But you have to do exactly as I say."

The plan was stupid. There was no way this was going to work.

"Are you sure this'll work?" She whispered.

Chiriko narrowed his eyes, urging her on from down the hallway. "It has to!" Go on! He mouthed urgently.

Miaka bit her lip as she entered the outpatient office. She'd called ahead to make sure that Miojuan was working today and set up an appointment for a check up on her ankle. She wore an elastic brace of sorts for support, but she hadn't even bruised. Miaka figured maybe all of the chi her Seishi gave her had helped her heal faster.

The secretary checked her in and a friendly nurse ushered her back to the exam room. While the nurse took her vitals and asked her basic questions, Miaka tried to settle her nerves.

When the tall doctor finally arrived, entering the exam room and shutting the door. Miaka was reminded of just how massive Miojuan was. He might've even been taller and broader than he was in the book! Thank you modern medicine and plentily available food. His eyes crinkled when he smiled at her in greeting and Miaka smiled back, hoping to Suzaku that Chiriko's plan worked.

"How have you been?" He asked, quickly listening to her heart and lungs. Miaka forced her breathing to remain normal as he rested one hand on her back to steady her, the other moving the bell of the stethoscope. Though the instrument was cold, his hands were very warm.

Miaka waited until he was done before responding. "Good. Great!"

Miojuan set the tool aside, turning his attention to her ankle. "Any soreness?" He asked, his warmth seeping into her foot from where he had a hold on it. He squeezed lightly, then rotated her foot in various positions, his face upturned towards hers and watching for any sign of discomfort.

She knew this was part of his job, but having his undivided attention was embarrassing. Slowly, she shook her head. "No."

Seeming satisfied, he nodded. Still holding her foot lightly, he asked, "What about your friend? The red-head?"

"What about him?" Miaka managed to keep from stammering, but his question worried her. Tasuki didn't have insurance and basically didn't exist in this world. But Hotohori had assured them that he was taking care of the bill—had something gone wrong?

Dark eyes narrowed in interest and Miaka found she couldn't look away. "He was hit by a car and yet by the next morning he was well enough to be discharged."

Thinking fast, Miaka said, "Luckily the driver had seen us and hit the brakes… the car really just tapped him." Miaka flinched a little at the lie. Okay, so it was like a Nuriko-level tap. But nothing Tasuki couldn't handle. He'd been perfectly fine the next morning. "He's been fine. No problems whatsoever."

With a low grunt of acknowledgement, Miojuan prodded her foot with his fingers again before announcing, "Your foot is healing fine."

"Thanks to you," Miaka chirped. "You're practically a miracle worker."

"I need no thanks." He patted her foot, a friendly smile on his face. "Just the fact that you're healthy is enough for me." Offering her a hand, Miojuan helped her stand, ensuring that she was steady on her feet before he let her go, accidentally dropping his pen in the process.

"Oh!" Miaka immediately crouched down to grab it for him, not realizing that he'd also moved to retrieve it himself.

Their hands brushed as they reached for the pen at the same time. Startled, Miaka jerked upwards only to have her forehead collide solidly with his.

The sharp blow knocked Miojuan on his backside, long legs sprawled out to either side as he rubbed the lump forming on his brow.

"Oh no! Dr. Miojuan, I am so sorry!" Miaka was beside herself. How stupid must she look? She came in with a stupid foot injury and now she'd practically killed him! "Let me help you," leaning down, she offered him a hand, well-aware that it likely looked ridiculous to anyone watching. He was sitting on the floor and at eye level with her… Miaka noticed him staring, realizing too late that she'd given him a direct look down the front of her blouse. Flushing, Miaka straightened, still stubbornly offering her hand.

There was an awkward silence as the doctor stared up at her pensively, his face impassive except for a small strip of red across the bridge of his nose. Once again, Miaka found herself struck dumb by how beautiful and manly he really was—those cheekbones could cut glass!

Slowly, Miojuan reached out to grasp her offered hand—the left hand. His large extremity easily engulfed hers up to the wrist. Somehow, he managed to climb to his feet gracefully without really needing Miaka's help at all. "Well er, Miss Yuuki… It was nice to see you again." He held onto her a second or two longer than necessary before turning to leave.

No! Don't let him leave! Miaka screamed at herself. "Wait!" Her voice came out shrill, but she didn't care, grabbing his hand again in desperation.

When he stopped, turning back to stare at her in question, Miaka's brain ground to a halt. What now? Chiriko had been certain Mitsukake would awaken if she just elicited enough physical touch. According to Chiriko, the Seishi had mentioned being a very tactile person, especially when it had come to Shouka. But so far he'd touched her during the exam, they'd bumped foreheads, and he'd held her hand! What more was there for her to try?

Trying to buy herself time, Miaka looked down at the large hand she'd captured in her small one. As of now, Miojuan offered no resistance. He simply stared down at her in taciturn curiosity as she began to fidget. She supposed she could try to kiss him, but the extreme height difference was going to make that difficult now that he was standing. She closed her eyes against the mental image of her jumping and missing or otherwise injuring herself and the tall doctor after miscalculating the trajectory.

"Uh…Dr… I uh…" She stammered, feeling more foolish than she had in quite a while. Nervously, she turned his hand over to absently trace her finger across his palm. His kanji mark would've been right here… Miaka sighed, painting the sign for 'sadness' gently across his skin with her finger only to be blinded by the sudden flash of red as the kanji flared to life beneath her fingertip.

Miaka took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she looked up to see Miojuan blink rapidly for several seconds before staring down at her with fondness. "Mitsukake?" She asked tentatively.

"Miaka." He smiled gently, grasping her hand in his firmly. There was a moment where they simply looked at each other which Miaka finally broke by jumping and hugging the tall Seishi around the neck, practically hanging off of him like a necklace.

After a moment's hesitation he hugged her back, bending over so that her feet rested on the floor. His large frame easily swallowed her up, the top of her head barely coming to the middle of his chest, which rumbled as he spoke, "It's good to see you again, Priestess."

When they parted, Miaka could see the indecision on his handsome face as he stared at her.

"You don't have to worry about explaining things to me, Mitsukake. I know everything."

Instantly, the doctors face turned a deep red. Bringing a hand to the back of his neck, Mitsukake looked away nervously. Miaka found she took a perverse pleasure in being able to make the normally stoic man completely lose his cool. "You do?"

Nodding seriously, Miaka repeated, "I do."

Mitsukake cleared his throat loudly, his gaze flicking back and forth between her and the floor as he composed himself. "The others?"

"You're the last one." Miaka kept her voice soft.

Somehow, her words seemed to make Mitsukake come undone again. Nodding politely at her, he straightened his jacket and turned to leave. Looking over his shoulder he said, "I have to finish my shift, but I'll call you afterwards. The best number is the one we have listed, correct?"

Miaka nodded dumbly as she watched Mitsukake leave. She'd done it. She'd actually found and awakened all of her seishi.

And that meant…Miaka gulped as the gravity of the situation hit her.

Soon it would be time for the ceremony.

AN; Oh some of you guys are wicked. I love all of the suggestions you've given for scenes! I honestly wish I could use some of them—and I might if I have to go back and rewrite some of these chapters in the future. However, we've reached the point where the actual smut is so close I am having a hard time writing actual plot! Going to try my best to actually close up all the emotional cans of worms I opened with this monster but it's kind of fighting me at this point. Thus, in order to not have another 4 year hiatus my intention is to plow through and then later maybe come back and edit if necessary for additional serious content. I apologize in advance if that makes it feel cheap and please feel free to let me know if you think I missed an opportunity for something somewhere. There are probably many. This chapter in particular feels a little short and rushed (I was trying to make it 2 chapters and happen over a few more days) but I've stalled out on it long enough I just need to post it so I can keep going. Love you all!