Fushigi Yuugi Fan Fiction ❯ A Story Retold ❯ Chapter 14

[ 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: Yui is devastated after finding out from Chiriko
that she is unable to summon Seiryu. Miaka attempts to comfort Yui,
but she doesn't have much time. With Nakago and his forces fast
approaching, the only hope is to summon Suzaku, at least so says a
very mysterious messenger.

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A Story Retold: Chapter 14
By Katrina Kadabra

Miaka pulled back the door of the tent. Yui was sitting inside,
clutching her legs to her chest. Yuiren was still sleeping
peacefully. Nervously, Miaka stepped inside.

"Um, Yui?" she said quietly. Yui gasped, apparently she had not
anticipated anyone following her. She quickly rubbed her hands over
her face to hide her tears.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"I just... wanted to say that, um... since about what Chiriko
said..."

"I already told you, I've come to terms with what happened to me,"
Yui said sternly. "And if you don't mind, it's not something I like
talking about."

"I wasn't asking you to talk about it," said Miaka. "I just wanted to
let you know that, w-when I summon Suzaku that is, that, well...
You're my best friend and so... I-if you wanted to have one of my
wishes...."

"Oh, please!" Yui yelled, not bothering to let Miaka finish her
rather broken sentence. "I need one of your wishes now? Miaka, does
anything make sense to you? I don't want you feeling sorry for me..."

"I'm not trying to feel sorry for you," said Miaka. "This is
something I genuinely want to do. Hear me out, okay?" Miaka grasped
Yui's arms. Yui looked rather skeptical, but for some reason, she
said nothing.

"Please tell me," said Miaka. "Tell what would make you happy, Yui. I
want that to be my first wish."

"What would make me happy?" Yui questioned. She found the question a
rather difficult one to answer as she began to ponder over the
possibilities. She didn't need to wish for success in school, she had
that already. Wealth or fame... they both seemed petty compared to
what she had lived through.

"If you want," suggested Miaka. "I could change the events of the
past. Make it to where that terrible thing never happened." Yui sat
for a moment to reflect on the concept.

Changing the past. She would never have to deal with those cursed
memories ever again. She would have her happiness, her dignity. And
her precious virginity would be restored to her. The very possibility
made Yui's heart race. Then she realized.

"But if you did that..." said Yui. "Then Yuiren would never be born,
would she?" There was a long pause.

"No," said Miaka quietly. "No, I guess she wouldn't." Yui thought
long and hard. She shouldn't feel responsible. She could not let the
guilt get to her. Yuiren was a symbol of pain, the proof of what Yui
had to endure by that terrible man. Why should Yui want her to remain
in her life? Yui thought back over everything that had happened since
she arrived back in the book. She thought of when she found out about
Yuiren, gave birth to her, named her, and took up the responsibility
to be her mother. That's right... she had sworn she would protect
Yuiren from everything. Yuiren had been the one to save her and
restore her hope; she had admitted that to Miaka only the previous
day. But could Yui bring herself to protect her daughter from her own
pain and desires? The path seemed already decided. Finally with tears
in her eyes Yui said quietly, "I can't do it. Can you believe how
stupid that is? The one thing that's made me suffer more than
anything else. I have the chance to undo it... and I can't. I just
can't." Yui broke down and began crying again.

"It's okay," said Miaka soothingly. "Yui, it's okay. Maybe there's a
reason to all this. Sometimes we don't know why things happen right
away. Sometimes it takes a while. But in the end..." Yui turned
sharply away from her friend; her words meant nothing to her. What
did Miaka know about her pain? Could her mind ever contemplate what
Yui had to live with? Impossible, Yui thought. Miaka would never
understand.

As the two girls sat in silence, the tent door suddenly flew open.
Miaka turned around. Chichiri was standing in the doorway, a look of
panic written on his face.

"I've got something to tell you, no da," he began. But before he
could get any further, Nuriko abruptly appeared behind him. He was
very excited, and in his effort to get aside, he almost pushed
Chichiri to the ground.

"Sorry, Chichiri. But Miaka, there's something important I need to
tell you."

"Chichiri had something to tell me too," said Miaka. She looked over
towards Chichiri, who was still trying to regain his balance after
Nuriko pushed him.

"Chichiri, why don't you go first?" Miaka said. Chichiri stood up, a
bit irritated at Nuriko's lack of consideration, but then again,
there were more important things at hand right now.

"We've got trouble, no da," he said. "I just spotted Nakago's troops.
They're not far from here. If we stay where we are, they'll find us
within a short time, no da." As Chichiri was speaking, Yuiren began
to stir from her sleep. As Yui went to tend to her, Miaka quickly
tried to think about what was the best solution. Could they run from
Nakago's army, the small group of them? That seemed impossible. With
all his power, he could freeze them all dead in their tracks if he
wanted to. And Miaka had learned from experience that running away
never solved any problems. But what else could they do?

"Can I talk now?" Nuriko asked, very annoyed. Miaka sweatdroped and
apologized.

"Sorry, Nuriko. What was your news?"

"I've been trying to tell you, this mirror is going off again." He
held the mirror in front of Miaka for her to see. A Chinese
character, different from all of the others, had appeared faintly,
but unmistakably on the mirror's surface. Yui examined the symbol.

"It means star," she said. As she spoke, Yuiren stirred in her arms.
She opened her shining eyes to gaze up at her mother. Something was
happening; Yui could sense it. She stared deeply at Yuiren's face and
even as she did, the infants lips seemed to move as if forming a
word...

"Suzaku..."

"What?" Yui gasped. Had she been hearing things? She must have been.
It just wasn't possible.

"Suzaku." The words came again, stronger and firmer this time, and
without doubt, directly from Yuiren's lips. The child's voice was
faint but her words were clear. Everyone stared blankly, unsure what
to make of this three month old little girl suddenly speaking to
them. Seeing no direct response to her words, Yuiren spoke again,
with as much determination and urgency as her young voice could
muster.

"The spell to summon Suzaku." She turned her tiny head towards Miaka
and stretched out her arms towards her. "Priestess, you must call
upon Suzaku or everything will be lost." At this, Yuiren lowered her
head and dropped her arms, collapsing from exhaustion. Yui held her
daughter close to her, her whole body shaking. For a few brief
moments, there was utter silence. At last, Miaka stood up.

"Well, I think all of us understood that. I will have to summon
Suzaku." Nuriko looked at Miaka as if she had gone mad.

"But the eighth warrior..." he objected.

"We will just have to trust he will show up on time," said Miaka. "We
have no other choice."
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