Fushigi Yuugi Fan Fiction ❯ A Story Retold ❯ Chapter 11

[ 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 episode 52 of the
Fushigi Yugi 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, arriving at
the Kutou palace makes a shocking discovery about how the events of
the book have changed: she is expecting a child by the man who raped
her. Like before, Yui blames her suffering on Miaka and resolves to
again become the priestess of Seiryu. She gives birth to the baby, a
girl, and names her Yuiren. At first, Yui struggles with taking care
of her, but with her handmaiden Toki's guidance, she learns to love
her daughter and promises that she will guide and protect her. But
just as things begin to improve, Yui's worst nightmare comes true:
Yuiren's father arrives as the Kutou palace, thought to be the last
warrior of Seiryu. Unable to stand the memories coming back at her or
thought of Yuiren in danger, Yui runs away from the palace... and
right into a brewing storm.

----------------------------------------
A Story Retold: Chapter 11
By Katrina Kadabra

Yui walked blindly through the blustering winds. She felt like an
imbecile being out here in such terrible conditions. The couple
blankets she had thought to bring before she ran off were tightly
wrapped around her daughter, leaving Yui wearing nothing more than her
school uniform. And she was supposed to be the smart one. But
something was pushing Yui forward. A desire to protect both herself
and Yuiren from any danger.

Suddenly, she felt Yuiren's small body shivering in her arms. "Oh no,"
Yui thought. "The cold air is getting to her. I have to keep her warm.
But how? What do I have?" Yui stopped walking for a moment with her
back to a tree to block the wind. Still holding Yuiren to her chest,
she quickly removed her jacket and wrapped it around her precious
bundle. Pressing Yuiren to her chest once again, she felt the
shivering stop within a few moments. Yui smiled contently and
continued on.


Meanwhile, Nakago raged up and down the halls of the Kutou palace.
Presently Suboshi came running up to him.

"The horses are ready just like you asked sir," he said.

"Good," Nakago answered. "Be prepared. We will depart the moment the
storm lets up. Tell the others."

"At once," Suboshi answered, and he hurried off. Nakago watched him
leave and them starred out the window.

"Lady Yui," he said. "Don't think you can run away from me. This storm
is only a temporary barrier. You will not get far. And even if you do,
I will find you and bring you back. That is a promise."


It wasn't long before the raging weather began to take its toll on
Yui's body. It had been about three hours since she left Kutou, and it
seemed the biting wind and not stopped tearing at her since she left.
Her neck, arms, hands, and legs, everything felt completely numb. It
was taking all her strength just to hold Yuiren upright in her arms
and keep placing one foot in front of the other. I can't rest, she
thought. If I get caught out in this weather, Yuiren will freeze to
death. I have to find shelter before I can stop.

Then, like an answer to her prayer, Yui's eyes faintly made out the
distance of tents in the background. It looked like someone had set up
camp. Yui smiled at the thought of finally being out of this
nightmare, but then felt something like a wave of dizziness pass over
her. Yui's legs gave way and she fell onto her knees. Her head ached
and the world seemed to be fading around her. "No," she thought. "I
can't pass out. Not now! I'm too far." But the young girl's body could
not handle any more. She started to fall and her head hit the frozen
ground. The only thing Yui could manage to do was twist her body to
ensure that Yuiren would not be suffocated by her before everything
went totally black.


Meanwhile, Miaka and her warriors sat inside their camp, discussing
what would be their next move. They had traveled precariously close to
the Kutou empire, following the lead of the hand mirror that Miaka had
brought back with her. Tamahome seemed to think that something must be
amiss. Surely they wouldn't find the last warrior of Suzaku in the
country guarded by Seiryu, and to try and go any closer than they
already were was pure foolishness. It was a wonder Nakago had not
already detected their life forces. Miaka, on the other hand, insisted
that they continue to follow, despite any danger. Without the last
warrior, she could never summon Suzaku. But as the two of them sat and
argued the topic, Miaka suddenly fell silent; a chill flew up her
spine.

"What's wrong?" Tamahome asked, surprised that Miaka had stopped
talking so abruptly.

"I don't know," Miaka said, her eyes large and shaking with fear. "But
I just felt... like someone close to me is suffering."

"You mean, one of our warriors?" questioned Tamahome. Miaka shook her
head.

"No, not like one of our warriors. This is like..." All of sudden,
Miaka gasped. "Yui!"

"What?" Tamahome asked, perplexed. Miaka stood up, heading for the
exit. But she didn't get very far. Tamahome grabbed her by the wrist
and pulled her back.

"Oh no you don't! No way you're going out in that. You're staying
right here until the storm passes."

"But Yui's in trouble!" Miaka cried. "And she's somewhere nearby. I
can feel it!"

"Yui's in the Kutou palace," Tamahome reminded her. "Why would she
leave there, especially in conditions like this?"

"I don't know," Miaka admitted. "I only know my feelings, and I'm not
ignoring them." She pulled away from Tamahome and walked outside. The
young man could only sigh and follow.

The wind blew Miaka's hair wildly around and she clutched her arms
tightly. It was colder out here then she realized. Just then, she felt
someone placing a blanket over her shoulders. Miaka turned around.

"Tamahome!"

"Well, if you're going to do something this stupid, at least wear
warmer clothes." Miaka smiled.

"Thanks, Tamahome." She leaned onto his warm chest and Tamahome put a
supporting arm around her. Miaka was confident; she could never be
cold with Tamahome here beside her.

The two of them searched the area surrounding the Suzaku camp. Miaka
tried to follow her intuitions, but her sense of direction was
becoming badly disrupted in the raging wind. After three times of
circling the camp with no results, Miaka felt Tamahome give a squeeze
to her shoulder.

"Come on, Miaka. Let's get back inside. We'll freeze if we stay out
here any longer."

"Just one more time," Miaka begged. "Please, Tamahome." Tamahome
sighed. Somehow Miaka could always convince him of anything with those
longing brown eyes of hers.

"Alright," he sighed. "One more time." Miaka nodded contently. Then
she turned her concentration back to her search. This last time
around, she wanted to make absolutely sure she didn't miss anything,
even the tiniest clue as to where her friend might be. But the
darkness was greatly inhibiting her sight, and the howling wind did
nothing for her hearing. If Yui was nearby, she could neither see her
nor hear Yui call out to her. As Miaka and Tamahome neared the tent
where they had begun searching, Miaka finally decided to close her
eyes and block out her hearing as best she could. She was the
priestess of Suzaku. She would find what she was looking for by
listening to herself and the power within her. Tamahome looked at
Miaka like she had gone a bit nuts, standing there conceivably
meditating in the freezing cold. But suddenly, Miaka thrust her arm
out, her hand pointing off in the direction of a group of trees not
far from the camp.

"That way," she said. "I'm sure of it." Tamahome did not bother to
argue. It would be futile anyway. He would follow Miaka to protect
her; she wouldn't resolve to go back until she was satisfied. As they
neared the area, the anxious feelings that had called Miaka out here
in the first place grew stronger. Miaka opened her eyes and scanned
the area. She had to be right; Yui had to be around here. But where?
At that moment, Tamahome pointed. Someone was lying on the ground. Her
short ash brown hair whipped in the wind, along with the unmistakable
olive green fabric of Miaka and Yui's school uniform.

"Oh my gosh!" Miaka gasped and ran over to her friend, nearly tripping
over her own legs in the process. "Yui!" Miaka knelt down and felt
Yui's hands. They were frozen.

"Tamahome!" she cried. "She's not... she's not..."

"We need to get her inside now," Tamahome said, scooping Yui up in his
arms. "Let's go." Tamahome rushed back to the camp, with Miaka at his
side.

When they reached the tent, Miaka was finally able to get a good look
at Yui. Her face looked terrible; it was so pale. She'd never seen it
like that before. Why? What was Yui doing outside on a night like
this? That was something she'd yell at Miaka for doing, she was the
smart one. Miaka was ready to start crying, but Tamahome would not let
her.

"Don't start that now," he warned. "Go get Mitsukake,"

"Right," Miaka said, getting up. Tamahome was right. This was not a
time for standing around be upset. Yui needed help, and if anyone
could give it to her, it was Mitsukake.

Meanwhile, Tamahome was trying his best to warm Yui's frozen body. He
started to take her hands to rub them, but then he noticed they were
clutched around something. Tamahome carefully moved them away to
reveal a small bundle, which much to Tamahome's surprise, suddenly let
out a cry. Tamahome picked it up and pulled a way the blankets to
reveal a small infant staring him back in the face. It had large blue
eyes with tufts of light brown hair on its head. Its skin was bright
red, both from exposure to the cold air and crying. Tamahome didn't
know what to make of it, but he didn't have much time. Miaka returned
with Mitsukake, and Tamahome quickly stepped out of their way as the
cries from the small bundle in his arm seemed to soothe.

Mitsukake knelt down and felt Yui's forehead.

"She's blazing with a fever," he told Miaka. "She was out in this
weather far too long."

"Can you help her?" Miaka asked.

"I'll do my best," Mitsukake answered. He reached for the small jar of
water he had brought with him. Dipping his hand into it, Mitsukake
concentrated all his life energy on his healing powers. Miaka watched
intently and he released the water, the symbol on his palm glowing
brightly as a soft green light covered Yui's body. In a few moments,
the light was gone, and Mitsukake let out a sigh.

"Are you okay?" Tamahome asked.

"Fine," he answered. "It just takes a bit out of me. But I'll be okay.
In the meantime..." he motioned his head back to Yui. "Get your friend
to bed and keep her as warm as possible. We'll see how she is the
morning."

"Right," said Miaka. She picked Yui up grunting and carrying her over
to her bed. Miaka hastily gathered the blankets she had left so
clumsily scattered around and wrapped Yui up tight in them. When she
finally satisfied, Miaka laid down next to her friend, placing her arm
over her. She would keep Yui warm with her own body, all night if she
had to. Then Miaka felt Mitsukake placing another blanket over her.

"Make sure you keep warm yourself," he said. "We don't you coming down
with a fever as well."

"I'll be fine, Mitsukake," Miaka assured him. "Thank you." Mitsukake
nodded. In his job he saw a lot of pain and despair, there were so
many times he couldn't save the loved ones of his own or of those
close to him. He wondered why he went on. But what had happened here
tonight reminded him. It was events like these, seeing Miaka face of
gratitude and knowing that her friend was safe. This is what made
Mitsukake so proud and honored of his trade. As he prepared to leave,
he felt Tamahome nudge him in the side with his elbow.

"I think you should have a look at this," he said softly as he
revealed a small bundle in his arms. Mitsukake was shocked, but didn't
ask any questions. The priestess had been through enough so far in one
night, and she was already sleeping peacefully beside her friend. They
shouldn't disturb her. Mitsukake only nodded silently and the two of
them headed back for his tent.
----------------------------------------