Fushigi Yuugi Fan Fiction ❯ A Story Retold ❯ Chapter 7

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Disclaimer: I don't own Fushigi Yugi. The original story and
characters belong to Yu Watase. Any characters that did not appear in
the original story are my own creation.

Warnings: The story picks up shortly after the last episode of the
series. If you haven't seen all of the series not only will the story
probably leave you confused, but it contains some major spoilers as
well. This story has nothing to do with the OVA, except the use of
Taka's name.

Summary thus far: Upon arriving for the second time in the "Universe
of the Four Gods," Yui and Miaka are again separated. Yui, staying at
the Kutou palace discovers that the changed events have affected her
more than she realized, and now she is expecting a child... by the
same man who raped her. Like before, Yui blames her suffering on Miaka
and resolves to again become the priestess of Seiryu. After her
confrontation with Yui, Miaka returns to her world to retrieve the
mirror given to her by Taiitsukun, thinking it will help her to locate
her warriors quickly. But traveling between dimensions is never easy,
as Miaka soon learns. While she is able to arrive back in her world,
she begins to encounter obstacles keeping her from returning. And time
in the book is passing rapidly.

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A Story Retold: Chapter 7
By Katrina Kadabra

Miaka awoke early the next morning. Rather unusual for her; she
normally tried to make herself sleep in until the last possible moment
before she could grab some breakfast and run out to catch the bus for
school. But this time was different. As she began to open her eyes,
Miaka expected to see herself surrounded by the soft silk curtains
that hung in her chambers in the emperor's palace. Until she
remembered. She had come back to her world, and she was unable to
return to that world without the book. She had to find a way to get it
back today, and the sooner the better. Miaka yawned as the first image
before her tired eyes this morning began to come into focus - and her
old stuffed teddy bear stared her in the face.

"You're no emperor," she mumbled, tossing the stuffed toy to the floor
and stretching as she sat up. Quickly, Miaka got out her school
uniform. As she did, she looked about her room. Since she was here
anyway, she might as well find some helpful items to take back with
her to the book world aside from the mirror. But what...?

There was a knock on Miaka's door as her brother Keisuke walked in.

"Hey, Miaka, Mom says breakfast in fifteen minutes... what are you
doing with all that stuff?" He looked to see his little sister
cramming all sorts of things into her backpack, none of which looked
like anything she would use at school. A compass, some trail mix,
camera, and several changes of clothes.

"What's all this?" Keisuke asked. "Is it wilderness day at Yosubadai
today or something?"

"None of your business," Miaka answered, pulling the over-stuffed bag
onto her small shoulders. Her feet almost lost their balance, pulled
back by the weight.

"You're gonna break your back carrying all that stuff around today,"
her brother advised her. "What's it for anyway?"

"I told you, none of your business," Miaka answered again. "Now excuse
me." Miaka shoved past her brother and made her way down the stairs.
He could be so nosy sometimes. It was bad enough she had her mom to
pacify with reasons for her unexplained absences. She didn't need to
deal with her sibling now as well.

As she came to the end of the staircase, Miaka's thoughts were quickly
refocused. She could hear the sizzling of bacon and the unmistakable
scent of her mother's freshly-cooked hotcakes frying on the stove.
Well, maybe she would worry about all that other stuff in a few
minutes. After breakfast.

That morning Miaka's mother insisted on walking with her to the bus
stop, something she had not done in years. She must be suspicious
after last night, Miaka thought. But no matter. I'll just slip away
once the bus arrives at school. There's so many people, I'm sure no
one will notice me. As she stood devising her plot, the bus pulled up
to its destination. The large old brakes made a long screeching sound
that forced Miaka to grit her teeth. Traveling by horse wasn't such a
bad thing when one stopped to consider the alternatives.

As soon as Miaka bade her mother good-bye and stepped onto the bus,
she tried to find herself the most inconspicuous seat possible. No such luck.

"Hey Miaka! Come sit with us!" Two of Miaka's school friends called to
her from across the bus. One was waving her hands wildly, and the
other had her hand pressed onto the seat next to her to deter anyone
from sitting there. Miaka sighed. Things weren't really going her way.
But maybe this would work out. After all, if someone saw her on the
bus today, they would probably claim they saw her at school too, even
though she wouldn't be there. Miaka smiled and walked unsteadily down
the aisle as the bus began to drive away. She graciously took the seat
her friends had saved for her and tried to put on the best façade that
it was just another ordinary day.

"Hey, Miaka, how have you been?" one of the girls asked.

"Fine, just fine," Miaka responded.

"Have you seen Yui at all anywhere? We tried to call both of you last
night, but you were gone. And this is the second day in a row Yui's
been absent from school. Is she sick or something?" Miaka bit her lip
as she tried to think up an excuse.

"Um, yes, I think she is. She had the flu. Or something like that."

"Or something like that?" her friend repeated. "What's with you Miaka,
why are you so nervous?"

"I'm not," Miaka answered, folding her hands on her knees. "I'm just a
bit tired I think. Stayed up too late last night, that's all. If you
don't mind, I'd rather not talk that much." Miaka gazed out the
window, watching the scenery fly by her as the bus bumped and jumbled
its way down the road.

After twenty minutes of cramming the large vehicle full of far more
students than it should have been
able to handle, the bus pulled up to Yosubadai High School. Miaka
didn't know what to do. She tried to casually sneak away, but it was
no use. As she stepped off the bus, she found she was in the middle of
a crowd, conveniently lined with teachers who would be sure to stop
her if she were to leave the school grounds. To complicate things, one
of her friends grabbed her firmly by the wrist as they walked off the
bus. "Hurry or we'll be late!" Miaka sighed and went along. Her plan
had failed for the time being. She would just have to patient. She
would wait until the school day had ended and immediately afterwards,
she
would sprint to that library, find the book, and be reunited with her
friends once again. All she had to do was wait.

Miaka walked briskly into her first period class, English grammar.
Glancing at the clock, she saw it was 9:00. She was still a bit early,
so the teacher had yet to arrive. Miaka sat down at her desk and
opened up her backpack, trying to sort through the items she had
packed for Konan and her actual school supplies. She pulled out a red
notebook and pencil and sat them on her desk. Miaka opened up the
notebook and began to doodle in the top corner of the first page. She
let out a long sigh, tapping the eraser on the side on the desk. How
long had it been now? Miaka looked over and the clock and groaned.
9:02. This is going to be the longest school day of her entire life.

It seemed like an eternity before Miaka's longing ears finally heard
the last school bell ring. The tone
hadn't even finished sounding before Miaka had grabbed her belongings
and took off towards the door.

"Where are you going in such a hurry?" one of her friends asked,
managing to catch her just before she raced away.

"Oh, uh, just to the library. I have to pick up something important,
and I need to go now, okay?"

"Um, okay, but you know the library is closed now, right?" Miaka
stopped cold and turned around, pretending not to have heard what she
just had.

"Excuse me?"

"The library closed early today. They're renovating a new room or
something."

"When was this?!"

"I dunno. Maybe a couple hours ago. They'll be closed for the next two
days."

"Two days?!" Miaka cried out. "Why does there have to be such a
conspiracy against me?!" Her friend jumped back in fright at Miaka's
melodramatic reaction.

"I don't suppose this is something you could just find on the
Internet?" Miaka didn't answer. She gave herself just enough time for
a quick pout before running off as fast as she could for the library,
hoping against hope that what she had just heard was untrue.

Naturally, it wasn't. Miaka ran up to see the doors and the library
chained together, with a notice
reading exactly what she had been already told. "Library will be
closed until Monday. Sorry for the inconvenience."

"If only they knew how MUCH inconvenience they were causing me," Miaka
mumbled. She slumped down in the grass next to the gate, wanting to
burst. How could so many things happen to block her way to obtaining
that book again? Two days here would be months back in that world.
Unsure of what else to do, she buried her head in her arm and began to
cry. As she sat heaving, it wasn't long before she felt a reassuring
hand touched her shoulder. Miaka looked up to see Taka standing over
her with a sympathetic smile.

"It's okay," he assured her, taking her body in his arms. "We'll find
a way to send you back as soon as we can. I'll always be here for
you." Miaka nodded and clasped her arms around Taka's waist. Again, it
seemed like there was nothing she could do but wait.

While the days slowly passed for Miaka, they had stretched into months
for Yui. Eight and half months.
That meant her child could arrive any day now. Not that she needed to
be reminded. Suboshi had been doing plenty of that for her. It wasn't
that she didn't appreciate the care and attention, but the closer the
baby's due date drew, the more Suboshi watched her like a hawk and she
feared she would never get a moment's peace. Even tonight as she sat
eating her dinner, she couldn't look up without taking note of
Suboshi's fixed gaze on her.

Yui stopped for a moment to hold her breath, feeling she was getting
the hiccups. Upon seeing the pause, Suboshi almost jumped out of his
chair.

"Is it time, Lady Yui?" he asked her.

"For crying out loud, no!" Yui yelled back. "When it is, I'll say
something!" Yui sighed and returned to her meal. Suboshi had been at
her side this whole time. He was very loyal, perhaps too much. Yui
felt a twinge of guilt for not returning any of his passionate
feelings for her. But after everything, she just couldn't bring
herself to desire any kind of romance in her life. And besides, she
had far too much to think about outside of love. Yui glanced back at
Suboshi. His blue eyes stared back at her.

"He's looking at me like I'm going to explode," she thought to
herself. She groaned a bit softly. Her appreciation for Suboshi's
loyalty was turning to irritation very quickly.

"Suboshi, can't you just let me alone for a bit?" she asked.

"But Lady Yui..." Suboshi began to object.

"Please. I just need some time to myself." Suboshi sighed. He wasn't
getting anywhere fast and he knew it. Yui would continue her
persistence until she got her way. That in mind, Suboshi decided to
grant her request and let her alone, although he would be just outside
if she needed anything. As Suboshi walked towards to doorway, he heard
something click. The sound of two small objects, namely the chopsticks
Yui had been eating with, slipping out from her hand and landing on
the floor, one right after the other. Suboshi looked at Yui's face.
She looked scared, almost pale, and her hand was laid over her womb.

"Suboshi... get Toki now. Please!"
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