Disclaimer: I don't own any of it T-T! I don't own Fushigi Yuugi or any of its characters. They belong to Watase-sama. I don't own the song "I Hope You Dance" either. So, please don't sue me.

I guess this is kind of a Nuriko/Miaka pairing. Well, I guess it isn't really.

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Nuriko's eyes drifted closed for the last time, the hysterical pleas of his priestess and fellow seishi fading into nothing. He was going to die. He knew it, could feel it. The willow symbol on his chest was disappearing with his life force. He almost wanted to laugh. Just when he decides to leave Kourin in his past and move on, he ends up dying. How ironic.

It didn't really matter much, though. He had served his life's purpose, served his priestess. He could die without regret…

But, for some reason, Nuriko felt as if something went wrong somewhere. Someone had deprived him of something somewhere along the line. Then, it hit him, the force of it making his head spin more than it already was.

Miaka.

He never told her.

He never could. Not anymore…

He should have told her then… when they were alone by the inn. He mentally cursed himself for not telling her how he felt. Sure, he told Tamahome on the spur of the moment to motivate him to treat Miaka better, but he never told the person who deserved to know the most.

It wasn't like it really mattered anyway. Miaka didn't love him in return. She was in love with Tamahome. Even if she hadn't been, she wouldn't have been interested in a supposedly gay cross-dresser who had once disliked her.

~*~ I hope you never lose your sense of wonder. ~*~

Yes, he had once disliked the Suzaku no Miko. However, he never hated her. Never. It wasn't possible for him to hate Miaka. She was such a lovable person, and she always tried to befriend everyone she met. She had accepted him despite his eccentricity. Her gluttony never ceased to amuse him and her naivety always astonished him.

~*~ You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger. ~*~

Miaka…She's such an amazing person, the girl from another world.

~*~ May you never take one single breath for granted. ~*~

Nuriko couldn't help but wonder what could have been if only Miaka had met him first instead of Tamahome. Would she love him then? Probably not. She would never love him. He didn't deserve her love, her unrelenting, pure, innocent love… the love of a priestess… the love of Miaka Yuuki. It was a love that he would never know.

~*~ God forbid love ever leave you empty handed. ~*~

He remembered the time Miaka left for Kutou… the first time. He remembered when Tamahome and Chichiri went after her, and he was stuck watching over Tamahome's family. He wanted so much to run out of that house, hunt Miaka down, yell at her, hug her, and bring her back to Konan where it was safe.

~*~ I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean. ~*~

Nuriko thought back further to when Miaka stabbed herself in the chest to safe Hotohori-sama and Tamahome. He was so frightened when he saw the blood pouring out of her open wounds. When Taiitsukun gave Miaka the blood of Tamahome and Hotohori, yet refused his own, he was furious. Tamahome and Hotohori were able to live within Miaka forever, but he wasn't good enough.

~*~ Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens. ~*~

When the bandit thugs took Miaka away, he felt a sense of protectiveness and possessiveness overwhelm him. He swore that any man to so much as touch her would suffer at his hands. He made good on his promise, too.

~*~ Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance. And when you get the choice to sit out or dance… I hope you dance. I hope you dance. ~*~

Nuriko remembered his reaction to Miaka's return from Kutou without Tamahome. He had given her a doll before she left, but it hadn't worked out to well and the doll broke in half, just like Miaka's heart. He wanted nothing more than to march right into Kutou palace and knock some sense into Tamahome. When Hotohori confronted the kodoku-influenced Tamahome, Nuriko had wished that he was the one doing it, so that he could have been the one to beat the shit out of the bastard Tamahome had become.

~*~ I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance. Never settle for the path of least resistance. ~*~

He recalled the time Hotohori had saved Miaka from drowning in the lake. Although he had said that he wished he was Miaka, he truly wanted to be Hotohori carrying Miaka out of danger in his arms.

~*~ Living might mean taking chances but they're worth taking. Loving might be a mistake but its worth making. ~*~

Then, when they were thrown overboard, Nuriko had used all the love he had for Miaka to make his bracelets work, his power derived from the single hope that, more than anything else, he wanted Miaka to survive… to be able to live and love until her dying day far away from that place.

~*~ Don't let some hell bent heart leave you bitter. When you come close to selling out reconsider. ~*~

Then, when that beast, Ashitare, attacked Miaka savagely, Nuriko threw all reservations about death away and protected his beloved Miaka with his own body, with his life. If someone was going to take away Miaka's future full of dreams and hopes, then they were going to have to get through him first. No one would ever destroy Miaka's happiness. He would give his life to ensure that.

~*~ Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance. And when you get the choice to sit out or dance… ~*~

He always tried to comfort Miaka, but she never seemed to notice. She had always turned to him when Tamahome and Hotohori were too busy or not there. She used him, and then she forgot about him. Time and again, she did that. He didn't mind though. As long as she ended up happy. As long as she was smiling. As long as she truly lived. As long as she lived. That was all he wished for in Miaka's future. If she had the choice… he wanted her to dance… to live.

"Dance, Miaka… live…" were the last words he ever uttered, and they fell on deaf ears. Miaka didn't hear him.

~*~I hope you dance. I hope you dance. Time is a wheel in constant motion always rolling us along. I hope you dance. I hope you dance. Tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder, where those years have gone. ~*~

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a/n: How was it? This was my first sonfic, so go easy on my. I kinda cut off the last part of the song where it repeats a stanza and then repeats the chorus because I didn't have anymore to my story to put it with, but it doesn't really matter. I hope you enjoyed it. Please don't flame me for anything.

Please R/R!!!!! ^_~.