Fushigi Yuugi Fan Fiction ❯ A Story Retold ❯ Chapter 16

[ 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 both take a leap of faith as the
summoning ceremony begins. Only time will tell if their hope is
justified or doomed to failure.


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A Story Retold: Chapter 16
By Katrina Kadabra

Now it was Yui's turn to stand beneath the gushing spring for the
preparation process. The water was cool and refreshing to the touch.
It felt good letting it roll down her skin, reminding her of the
first time she summoned the beast god. This water was supposed to
cleanse her mind so that she would be ready for the ceremony. She
only wished it could cleanse her defiled body as well.

"Are you almost ready, Lady Yui?" Chiriko called out.

"Yes," Yui answered back, stepping out of the water. "But you don't
need to call me formally like that. Miaka is your priestess, not me."

"Miaka said we should treat you just like you were the priestess of
Suzaku," Chiriko answered cheerfully, holding out a towel for Yui.
Yui took it graciously.

"Is that so?" Yui mused. "Miaka..." she added, softly as she could
and mostly to herself. "Miaka, you're being too kind to me. As the
priestess of Seiryu, I am your enemy, even though I don't want to be.
But then, I can't summon Seiryu anyway, so what difference does it
make?" With that, she allowed Chiriko to take her to put on her
ceremonial clothes and complete preparations for the summoning of
Seiryu.

Meanwhile, Nakago and the rest of the Seiryu warriors were heading
ever closer towards the Suzaku camp. Nakago's eyes were set ablaze
with anger and determination. He had thought himself so far ahead of
those children, yet according to Ashitare, whom he had sent ahead,
they were preparing for the summoning of Suzaku even now. How had
they found the last warrior so quickly, Nakago wondered? And without
even his knowledge. While in the meantime, his own search for their
last warrior had failed. Soon after Yui left, the man Nakago had
thought to be the final warrior of Seiryu had stopped emitting any
signs of the dragon's power. He was an ordinary person. And if it
hadn't been for his presence, Lady Yui would not have run off. They
would still have their priestess with them. In a rage of fury, Nakago
had had the man beaten and thrown back to the streets where they had
found them. While the bout of revenge soothed his anger a bit, Nakago
still could not reason what had made that man seem like a celestial
warrior in the first place. He was obviously not a person of great
strength, intelligence or morale. In fact, he seemed to possess quite
the opposite of all those qualities. But whatever the reason for
their mistake, it would have to remain a mystery for now. The Seiryu
warriors had a much more important objective in front of them. To
destroy the Suzaku ceremony and get back their priestess as soon as
possible. The encampment had just begun to appear over the horizon.

Yui and Miaka stood across from each other, each one fully clothed in
ceremonial garments, Miaka wrapped in layers of red and pink, Yui
adorned with waves of lavender and blue. Between them was the
cackling fire into which they would throw their respective scrolls
upon reciting the words to call the beast gods to earth. Yui took a
deep breath and let it out slowly. She wished she didn't have to
stand so close to Miaka. She felt horribly inferior. Nuriko, who
stood to the side holding Yuiren, seemed to sense her nervousness and
whispered softly,

"Don't worry about anything. Just concentrate on the ceremony, okay?"
Yui nodded. She looked across the flames to Miaka; her friend's eyes
were warm and welcoming. Miaka gave a small nod of her head. At last
it was time. Boldly, the two girls voices rang out in unison:

"The four palaces of heaven. The four corners of the earth. In the
name of sacred law, faith, and virtue, I summon thee..."

"Suzaku!"

"Seiryu!"

Nakago paused on top of the hill. He could see the Suzaku warriors
gathered around their priestess. This was good... they were
vulnerable now. One quick blast and everything would be destroyed. He
would use his powers to shield Yui and bring her back. Then the world
was his for the taking.

"That's it," he said. "Let's go!" He went to give his horse one final
snap of the reins, but for some reason, nothing happened. He tried
again.

"Nakago!" he heard Soi cry. "What's happening? None of us cam move
our bodies!" Nakago strained to look at the warriors around them.
They were all perfectly still, as if frozen in time. What could be
the cause of it? Surely the priestess of Suzaku had not already
completed the ceremony? It was then that his eyes caught Soi's knee.
The blue symbol of her constellation was shinning brightly.

"Nakago..." Tomo managed to stammer. "Your forehead... your symbol is
glowing!"

"So it seems... all of ours are," Amiboshi managed to get
out. "Someone is calling on the power of Seiryu."

"Can't you do anything?" Nakago snarled.

"There is nothing we can do," Miboshi said. "This spell is strong, we
would be wasting our energy to try and break out of it. We can only
wait."

Meanwhile, the Suzaku warriors were all concentrating all of their
life force on Miaka. Each of their blazing red symbols appeared
boldly on their skin. Miaka felt their strength within her,
supporting her. She hoped in some way, Yui was being helped along as
well.

"I beseech you to appear on earth. From the palaces of heaven. For
the sake of those here who adore you and who await your presence.
Destroy all that is evil which threatens us. Save us, and with your
mighty power... Descend to us now from the heavens above!"