Suzaku no Miko

(Fushigi Yuugi Chapter Two)

A ninth-grader, Yuuki Miaka-sama, along with her classmateYui-sama, visited a place called a library. Inside, Miaka-sama saw an apparition of a red bird. Then the girls discovered a book entitled, "Shijintenchisho", and they began to read.

The book’s magical powers transplaced them, and they found themselves in an unknown world. They came across a man with the kanji for “oni” on his forehead.

Aterwards, Miaka-sama traveled to the city to look for Yui-sama, who had disappeared. When she was again in danger, the man helped her.

Unknown to Miaka-sama, Yui-sama had been returned to their own world.

Miaka gazed up into the strange man’s face, trembling, still in shock from her close rescue. A chill breeze blew through the alley, rustling the dead leaves that had laid at their feet and sending them spinning away.

The man silently looked down at her, then walked forward to stand before the girl. “So it was you,” he stated. “What are you doing here? This area is rather dangerous.”

Heart pounding, Miaka flung herself at him and buried her face in his chest. He started backwards in surprise and stared down at her in shock.

“I-I was terrified.” A single tear escaped her eyes and trickled down Miaka’s cheek. She tried not to think about just how close she had come.

The man’s eyes closed; his expression softened in reaction to the girl’s terror. “It’s safe now, I disposed of them. You’re going to be fine.” He smiled down at her. “Cheer up.”

Miaka slowly pulled back from him and attempted to stifle her tears.

“Oh, you were looking for me, weren’t you?” he asked the girl in a friendly, unthreatening tone.

Miaka tried to compose herself, remembering her mission. “Yes. Do you know where Yui-chan is?”

"Yui-chan?" His puzzled tone was Miaka's answer.

Looking up at him earnestly, tears forgotten, she asked, “You know, the girl that was with me. She followed you, didn’t she?”

He blankly returned her gaze, then suddenly grinned and leaned forward to point a finger at her. "Ah!"

Miaka, bent backwards from him, waited for his answer with a hopeful smile.

"I don't know."

Her face froze.

"Ja ne!" he cheerfully said and spun about on one heel to walk away.

"Hey!" Miaka threw herself after him and tackled him by the legs. He fell face-down in the dirt, the girl’s arms clamped tightly about his legs. “I asked you a serious question and you dodged it! I’m not letting go until you tell me!” she declared with iron.

He waved a white flag in the air and spoke, voice muffled in the dirt. "I understand, I understand."

Miaka eyed him for a moment, then released his legs and knelt beside his prone body. "You'll honestly tell me?" she asked with infinite hopefulness.

He nodded his face in the dirt. "Yes."

She leaned forward and looked down at the back of his head. "Then say it. Where is Yui-chan?"

He pulled his face out of the dirt, his nose scratched red by the sharp rocks. "I have no idea," he sourly answered.

Caught off-guard by his answer and foul expression, Miaka stared at him.

He grinned and took his chance, lightly jumping to his feet and speeding away.

"Ohhhhhhh! Wait!" Miaka yelled after him, fists clenched. She ran and chased him about the street, shouting the whole time and waving her fists in the air. "Don't run away!"

Miaka finally caught up with him in the busy marketplace. She closely followed, dodging shoppers and carts of wares to keep up with his hurried pace. “Wait, will you?” She decided to ply for sympathy and a bit of guilt. “Don’t you have any compassion at all? A girl is separated from her friend!”

He sped up.

Miaka did, too, dodging people and carts right and left, determined not to let him out of her sight a second time. “I’m roaming around an unknown place!” she shouted after him, this time hoping to invoke more protective instincts.

He kept going.

"Hey! Don’t you hear me?” Abosolutely certain she did not want to be alone on her search, Miaka stubbonly tried a third tactic. She deepened her voice. “’Leave it to me!’ Can’t you say that?? I’m begging you!”

It didn't work.

Stymied, Miaka finally stopped in frustration, eyes clenched tightly shut. In a last desperate attempt, her mind leaped, and she shouted at him, “Are you a MAN?”

He stopped short, shoulders tense.

Miaka halted and looked at him in amazement, surprised her tactic worked.

“Shit, what a rotten thing to say,” he dourly remarked, eyes staring down at the brown dirt of the road. He spat out his opinion of her, “You’re not important because you have no money. If you ask someone, expect to pay,” he snapped, glaring at her from behind, over one broad shoulder.

The man turned to face her, leaned forward, and held out his empty hand. "So give it to me in advance."

Miaka's eyes narrowed at his greedy face. "Money, money, money is all you ever talk about. Is it such a big deal to you?"

He straightened and crossed his arms behind his head with a haughty expression. "Yes, as a matter of fact, it is," he lightly answered.

His determined statement sent a lance of fear whipping through Miaka's body as her mind suddenly realized the import of his words. Money...! "Then surely...surely you sold Yui-chan!" She gestured wildly, nearly shouting in horror.

"Huh?" He raised one eyebrow in disbelief.

Miaka pulled back in disgust. "I can't believe it! Trading in girls!"

His own eyes narrowed. "What?!"

"Urusai! You're the worst, you beast!"

"Who's the beast?!" he shouted back in her face.

Miaka’s arms windmilled and she yelled in fear at him, seemingly oblivious to the passing crowd, "Stay away, you tool of traffickers!"

"Nani!?" he nearly snarled in anger.

"Oi! Did you hear that?" One man in the masses asked another in surprise. Everyone around the two started talking in low voices.

"He's dangerous!"

"Don't get near him!"

Miaka’s unwilling escort looked from side to side with increasing nervousness.

"How shameful!" a bystander spat out.

Miaka took advantage of the moment. "Mina-san! Listen to me!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, waving at the crowds. Her next words were cut of when the man clamped his hand over her mouth and clutched her tightly to him.

"Hahahaha!!! She doesn't know what she's saying!" he quickly assured everyone in a hurried, falsely jocular voice. "She's a hopeless girl!"

The hopeless girl continued to struggle, kicking arms and feet. He scooped her up and ran before the crowds decided to do more than just talk.

Bouncing about in his arms, Miaka cheerfully asked him, "Well, do you feel like finding Yui-chan now?"

"No more of your nonsense!" he clamored, sweat drops on his face, still running.

"Okay then, I'll tell people you're a trafficker," Miaka smugly informed. She finally had an angle!

"Are you threatening me!? I've never been a trafficker."

Miaka closed her eyes. "I know."

"Nani?!"

He skidded to a stop in an empty side street, stood for a moment, glaring at her, then dumped the girl most ungracefully on the ground. She landed with a painful thunk.

"Are you trying to hurt me?" she cried up at him petulantly.

He turned his back on her, hands arrogantly on hips, extremely annoyed that her manipulation had worked. “No.”

“That was mean!” she climbed to her feet, massaging her bruised rear. “I’m only asking because I don’t know this city. I have nothing and no one to count on.” At the thought of being forced to continue searching alone, her mind grew heavy with fear, and her voice became tremulous. “I need to hurry and find Yui-chan. I feel sorry for her.” She put her hand to her face to wipe away an unshed tear. If street toughts came after me, then who knows what has happened to poor Yui-chan!?

He looked at the girl over his shoulder and listened to her quietly cry, her tears finally reaching him. "O--oi..." He tentatively reached out a hand to touch her back. She stepped away before he could connect, face buried in her hands, openly crying in frustration and fear.

He wearily sighed, watched the girl for a moment, and then stared out at the street. "Shit, I'm not fooling around. Finding someone isn't easy in a city this size."

His words echoing her emotions, Miaka again tried to compose herself, only to be distracted by the sounds of voices that had been slowly rising from the causeway they had left behind. The noise climaxed as ranks of armored soldiers marched down the street, carrying spears and fluttering banners on long poles. Twelve men in the center of the procession held a glittering palanquin aloft by the poles on their shoulders. The palanquin genty bobbed to their steady, unfaltering beat, the litter’s rich lavender cutains swayed in the breeze, and the outlines of a dark silhouette could barely be seen through the gaps in the thick material.

Miaka and the man joined the gathered crowd on the side of the street to watch, the rhythm of the marching soldiers and men throbbing up from the ground.

"What's that?" Miaka asked him.

"It's an imperial procession."

"Imperial?"

"The one in the colorful palanquin is the Emperor of Konan."

The light glinted off the litter's gold to shine in Miaka's eyes. "It's beautiful," she breathed, worries momentarily forgotten in the splendor.

He agreed with a quiet, short laugh. “The Emperor’s crown....if I had just one gem from it...” he wistfully trailed off, his mind luxuriating at the infinite possibilities.

Miaka turned to him. "Ne, is the Emperor rich?"

"Well, look for yourself."

She pulled closer to him. "Is he nice?"

Her unusual question caught him off guard. "Oh...well...I haven't heard anything bad."

Miaka quickly looked back at the procession and could barely make out a shouder covered in rich, scarlet cloth through the scant gap in the curtains She slowly smiled. "Hey, I'll ask the Emperor!" Miaka brightly offered.

"Huh?" Disbelief was evident in his voice.

"I'll get the gem for you! If I do, then will you help me find Yui-chan?"

With an easy smile, he crossed his arms behind his head, confident that she would fail miserably, and be quite amusing in the process. “Sure.”

Miaka waved as she skipped away. "You said yes!" she verified.

“Yeah.” He agreed. Still smiling, he watched as she bounced through the crowds. His grin vanished when he jerked forward with a gasp of shock.

Miaka ran right up to the golden litter and trotted alongside, ignoring the heavily armed guards around her, and one walking close behind. “Hey, Emperor-sama. You are the Emperor-sama, aren’t you?” she called up to the high palanquin with spirit.

The shady figure inside moved to look down at her. "Who are you?" a deep, smooth voice asked.

Waving her hand, Miaka laughed and dismissed herself, not wanting to waste any more precious time. “Oh, I’m just a nobody.” She pressed her hands together and said with vibrant eyes, “I have a request!”

Still in the crowds, Miaka's stranger stepped forward in disbelief. "She can't be!"

"Would you give me...." Miaka demurely regarded the ground as she jogged, then thrust her open hands out to the figure above her with confidence. "...one of the gems from your crown?!"

"Baka!" her rescuer cried, dumfounded and growing afraid for the innocent little optomisit.

Still jauntily skipping along, Miaka missed the appalled reaction of the guard behind her. “It’s no big deal, because Emperor-sama is rich! Please let me have one!”

Eyes closed with her sweet and hopeful smile, the girl did not see the small stone in her path. She tripped over it, arms flailing wildly. Her hands latched onto one of the palanquin’s decorative sashes, and the thin material ripped loudly in half.

Back in the disbelieving crowds, the man’s heart pounded. "This is bad!"

She fell backwards onto her already bruised bottom. "Itai..."

The guard behind her drew his sword with a shout. "Kono ama! You were disrespectful to His Majesty!" He pointed his blade at her. "You will be punished! I'll cut your head off!"

Miaka flinched backward from the sword pointed in her face, completely shocked. "Nani? Why? Why behead me?" she fearfully asked through clenched teeth.

"Talking is no use!" the man bellowed as he swung his blade back.

"Aaaaahhhh!!!" Miaka screamed.

Three small smoking bags sailed out from the crowd into the middle of the guards. The sacks hit the ground and exploded into thick clouds of roiling, opaque smoke. The guards bent double with heavy coughs as the noxious fumes acted.

The man leaped unseen from the sidelines and scooped Miaka in his arms to run her clear of the smoke. He finally paused in a side street a short ways away from the interrupted procession.

"Are you stupid?! Do you want to get yourself killed?!"

Miaka’s face quivered at her failure and third close escape. “But...”

He grimaced. "I know! Don't cry. I'll look for your friend out of respect for your bravery."

Eyes shining, Miaka uncertainly smiled up at him. "H-hontou?"

His face softened. "Yeah. I'm ;So Kichiku. Everyone calls me Tamahome."

"Tamahome? I'm...Yuuki Miaka. But I have no reward for you now." She looked down, crestfallen at her failure to glean a jewel from the kind-and very rich-Emperor-sama.

Tamahome held Miaka closer to his chest, enjoying the situation for some reason, in spite his financial objections. “Don’t worry, I’ll take one now.”

Miaka's eyes widened at the touch of his warm, firm lips on her forehead in a gentle kiss. Her heart stopped.

The moment was shattered by a loud shout from behind, "There they are!"

“Foolish man! Prepare yourself!” The guard standing in the street’s entrance swung his sword in the air. He charged them and was knocked backwards by a rising surge of red light that burst forth from Miaka. The blinding rays pummeled the terrified guards and lit the day like a second sun. In the center of the blaze, Tamahome knelt with Miaka, still held tightly in his arms.

A great wind blew from the air around her, and their eyes were clamped shut, faces straining from the force of the gale. Miaka cracked open one eye against the searing pressure. Her heart pounded at the sight of Tamahome. She could see him through the palm of her hand!

"You--" he strained out against the windstorm.

Back in the street, the guards were trying to control spooked horses and urgently waving their arms. "Retreat with the Emperor's palanquin! Hurry!"

"Wait!" the deep, commanding voice ordered from inside. "What's causing this disturbance?" he demanded of them.

"The girl!" One of the guards cried. "The girl is surrounded by blazing red light!"

"Red light?"

"She's disappearing!"

Powerless to stop it, Miaka watched herself slowly vanish in horror. The daylight light from Konan dimmed into murkey gray, and she only saw a glimpse Tamahome’s empty arms before darkness surrounded her. “What’s happening?” she whispered.

Red light sucked her down in a long spiral to climax in a bright flash. She gasped at the sight of the stolid National Library, and she quailed when the dark interior revealed a room filled with books. Oh! It’s the Important Documents Reference Room! And kneeling on the floor--

"The girl was surrounded by red light. The figure of the girl..."

Yui-chan! Yui-chan is here! This is the library!  Her thoughts joyfully echoed through the gray void around her, singing with relief at the safety of her friend. I’m so glad you’ve returned here!

Trying to focus her thoughts, Miaka called out to Yui. Yui-chan! Please notice me!

Yui continued reading, never looking up from Shijintenchisho.

Yui-chan? Yui-chan!!!! Miaka reached out one spectral hand to her friend, her call going unheard. Behind the desperate girl, the great red bird she had seen in the stairwell appeared a second time. It soared through the air, the force of its wake sucking Miaka away from the library, and returning her to the grip of the searing red light.

Yui-chaaaaaaan!!! She yelled, one hand outstretched in futile appeal.

Yui and the libarary vanished.

Miaka saw and felt nothing until a single, glittering red feather slowly appeared through the void. She watched its unhurried, swaying descent towards her with strange detachment. It gently alighted on top of her head, then disappeared into nothingness.

She blinked once, turned, and found herself again in Tamahome's arms. He stared down at her in silence, amazed.

"Soldier," the voice from the palanquin's depths commanded.

"Yessir!"

"Take them both, now."

Tamahome leaned over the girl in his arms, still in shock. "Miaka...you..."

They both gasped when spears clanked about them, preventing any escape. Tamahome set Miaka on the ground. They stood together, the man holding Miaka protectively against his chest.

*******

Thrown forward, Miaka tumbled into the dim cell with a cry. The guards unceremoniously tossed Tamahome in after her. The man turned about to glare at soldiers, who impassively slammed the heavy wooden bar door shut in his face.

Sprawled on her side on the dank stone, Miaka's heart pounded with fear. Why have we been taken prisoner?!

*******

By the Emperor's orders, the girl and the young man were imprisoned."

Yui gazed down at the page in Shijintenchisho, her mind ablaze with worry as she studied the elegant line drawing that depicted a terrified girl, sprawled upon on the cold stone.