Fushigi Yuugi Fan Fiction ❯ A Story Retold ❯ Chapter 13

[ 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.

Chapter Summary: Miaka and Yui have finally made amends. But for
reasons unknown, Nakago is still after the Priestess of Seiryu, even
though it seems she no longer has the ability to summon the beast
god. Have the Seiryu warriors really lost or is everything going
according to Nakago's plan?

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A Story Retold: Chapter 13
By Katrina Kadabra

Later that morning, Yui joined Miaka and the others for breakfast.
She didn't really want to, but Miaka didn't take no for answer. Yui
needed to replenish all the energy she lost from the night before,
and since Yuiren was sleeping anyway, what else was Yui going to do?
Unable to argue the logic, Yui had finally agreed.

Everyone was seated in a circle as Miaka came in with the platters.
To Yui's right sat Tasuki, though he didn't seem to take much notice
of her. The seat to the left of her was empty. She assumed that seat
would be Miaka's once she finished serving the food. Miaka excitedly
passed out generous helpings of the morning meal to everyone before
taking her place, next to Yui as she had predicted.

"Dig in everyone!" Miaka announced.

Yui looked down at her plate. There was some rice, and some other
food that Yui couldn't quite identify, but it looked like it had been
severely overcooked.

"See?" Miaka said happily, pointing to the unknown specimen on Yui's
plate. "That's what I made!" Yui smiled and then sighed as she picked
up her chopsticks. She had stomached Miaka's cooking in home
economics; she could do it again.

"So," said Miaka, her mouth already stuffed with food. "Waf's ar neft
muv?"

"Huh?" The Suzaku warriors all gave Miaka a blank stare.

"She asked 'what's our next move?'" Yui translated.

"Oh," everyone answered in unison. Nuriko rested his elbows on the
table thoughtfully.

"Well, we clearly have the upper hand now that Kutou has lost their
priestess. But we are still short our last warrior. Tell me, um, Yui
right?" Yui nodded. "Did Kutou find all their warriors yet?"

"They found the first seven," said Yui. "And I'm sure Nakago is
trying to find me right now as well."

"What about the eighth?"

"I don't know," Yui said, dropping her eye contact. "They found…
someone, but they aren't sure if he's the last warrior or not." She
quickly shoveled some more food into her mouth and forced it down her
throat.

"Well, I'm done," she announced, placing her chopsticks neatly on her
plate.

"But Yui, you only ate half your food," said Miaka, looking almost
tearfully back at Yui's plate. If anyone hated to see food go to
waste, it was Miaka. But it also concerned her that her friend
appetite was not returning. Had they said something that upset her?

"Oh, well, you can finish it," said Yui, picking up the plate and
scrapping the remainder of the food onto Miaka's. Miaka looked
disappointedly down at it.

"But, Yui, what about you? You need nourishment."

"I'll be fine," Yui assured her. "Here, I'll go wash this off. I
think I saw a stream just outside. You sit there and enjoy yourself."
Yui seemed very anxious to leave to Miaka, but maybe that was because
she felt nervous being around the Suzaku warriors when she was the
priestess of Seiryu. Miaka certainly wanted Yui to be on good terms
with all her friends, but she didn't want to make Yui feel
uncomfortable either.

"Hey, as long as yer up, do mine too, will ya?" Tasuki asked, holding
his plate up to Yui and waving it around a bit.

"Tasuki, you're so rude!" Miaka snapped. Yui laughed.

"It's okay, I don't mind," she said, taking the plate from Tasuki's
hand and walking outside. Tamahome tapped on cup to call everyone's
attention to him. As long as Yui was out of hearing range, he wanted
to take a moment to talk to the Suzaku warriors.

"I hope you don't mind me being frank, but I'm really worried. I
don't think we're as far ahead as it seems."

"How so?" Miaka asked.

"Well for one, Nakago's army is powerful. We may have Yui, but it
wouldn't be much for him to take her back from us. He might even try
something like kidnapping you to use as a hostage. We can't put
anything past that guy."

Mitsukake nodded. "That's true. And if Kutou has found all eight
warriors, then all they need the summon Seiryu is Yui. We're in a
race against time here."

"But can Yui even be the priestess of Seiryu?" Chiriko questioned. "I
mean, sorry for bringing this up Miaka, but the priestess has to be a
virgin, right?" There was a sudden crash just outside the tent. Miaka
gasped and turned around, even though she already knew what had
happened. Yui stood there in the tent doorway, the shattered pieces
of china at her feet. She tried to hide the disappointment in her
eyes.

"Is that true?" she asked. "What he just said? That because of what
happened, I've lost the right to summon Seiryu?" Miaka tried to talk,
but no words formed. She wanted to answer her friend, but how could
she? What could she say?

"Yes, it's true that the priestess does have to be a virgin,"
Tamahome said. "But Yui, that doesn't have anything to do with you as
a person. After what you did…"

"Please," said Yui, holding her hand up. "I know what I did. I don't
need to be lectured on it." She turned her back to Tamahome and
Miaka, trying to push back tears. "Anyway, it doesn't matter. I came
to terms with what happened a long time ago. Why should this bother
me now?" Yui's voice squeaked a bit on the last few words as she
tried to make her voice sound like nothing had phased her. Her cover-
up was pathetic, even she had to admit. The tears were welling up in
her eyes, and she was sure everyone could tell by her very tone what
was really going on in her heart. Rather than risk being lavished
with pity, Yui quickly excused herself left the room. After she was
well out of hearing range, Miaka pounded down her fists on the table.

"It's not fair!" Miaka yelled. "Why shouldn't Yui be able to summon
Seiryu?! She took no willing part in what happened! And she even
cared for Yuiren on top of that! What more does Seiryu want from
her?!"

"Whether it's fair or not, those are clear facts. But perhaps it may
work out for the better," said Nuriko. "At least now we know Nakago
will never get the power of Seiryu."

"Maybe, but something still doesn't make sense, no da," said
Chichiri. "If he's known all this time that he could never get
Seiryu, then why bother helping the priestess at all? And if what Yui
says is true, and Nakago is still after her, then she must still have
something he desires. But what?" For a moment, Chichiri regretted
speaking. A wave of imminent danger passed over him. He could sense
that the group of them was being watched, but from where he could not
tell. He could only tread forward with extreme caution until the
danger passed.

Nakago shut tight the shell Shin. He had enough information for now;
it was best not the waste the shell's magic on trivial and
unnecessary spying. Soi sat at his side, watching his every move
intently.

"I cannot help but wonder the same thing, Nakago," she said. "We know
Lady Yui is unable to summon Seiryu. Why are you so intent on
recapturing her?"

"Why are you quick to jump to conclusions?" Nakago countered. "When
you have not explored all the possibilities of potential that Lady
Yui still holds."

"Do you mean...?"

"There is a special ceremony that can be performed to cleanse the
priestess' body. However it can only be done by a single celestial
warrior with an immensely strong life force."

"You're referring to yourself, I assume?" Soi asked.

"Of course," Nakago replied, smiling. "But herein lies the problem.
The ceremony while cleansing the body of the priestess to make her
fit for the summoning also ravages her body at the same time. It will
put Lady Yui through extreme pain, weakening her to the extent that a
single wish would prove fatal, if she can even sustain having the
beast god enter her body in the first place."

"So that's it," said Soi. "That's why you didn't want Lady Yui's
daughter to be born?"

"Of course I didn't want it. Lady Yui's body must be as strong as
possible if she's to survive long enough to grant my wish. Carrying
and bearing a child produced a great deal of stress to her body, and
I have been waiting all these long months for her body to recover. I
will not be cheated out of my prize now."