Fushigi Yuugi Fan Fiction ❯ Shi Jin no Miko ❯ Conflict and Celebration ( Chapter 4 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Fushigi Yugi.. But I do own Kumiko! I'd appreciate suggestions and ways to make my story better (and compliments are always good ^_^) Later on, this story will become Tasuki/OC, just so you're `warned'. It wouldn't let me add romance as a genre. -_-` A character that comes in this chapter, Mischa Yuki (Miaka's cousin) dosen't belong to me, she belongs to my friend Paris-Rose. Thanks!

Key/Legend:

Italics-Thoughts

Bold AND Italics- Flashbacks

Shi Jin no Miko

Chapter 4

Conflict and Celebration

Kumiko launched silently at the figure. She stopped right before her sword hit their neck. The figure looked surprised, but didn't attack.

"Uh, would you mind REMOVING that please?!" They said, sounding very nervous. Kumiko gave a smirk. "Well you're the assassin aren't you?" "DO I LOOK LIKE AN ASSASIN?!" They yelled, now seeming to be suffering from extreme paranoia. It was then Kumiko and just listened to their voice. It was a girl. "Well, you ARE wearing all black." She pointed out. "It's called being a frickin GOTH!!!" The girl whined. Kumiko dropped the sword. "Wait, you said Goth. You're from the real world?" She asked. The girl turned to her. "You mean you are too?" Kumiko nodded. The two jumped up and down squealing, until both realized what they were doing. They simply shifted uncomfortably and blushed. "I'm Kumiko Inoai, it's nice to meet you. Sorry about all that." She stuck out her had. The girl hesitated slightly. "Mischa Yuki." "Oh, you're the priestess of Genbu!" Kumiko exclaimed.

Mischa nodded. "Uh huh." "Hey, you said your last name was Yuki?" Mischa laughed. "Yeah, you probably know Miaka. She's my little cousin. I'm…let's see…three years older than her? Yea, three." "So where is Miaka?" Kumiko asked. "Oh. She's in the house," She pointed. Kumiko nodded, then said, "So watcha doing out here?" Mischa shrugged. "Well, I dunno. Sorta looking around, I guess. I was just thinking about going back inside, do you want to come with me? That is, if you're done trying to kill me." Kumiko slightly blushed and said, "Yes, I think I've given up on that." The two headed into the house on the edge of the hillside.

When they got inside, Kumiko got to fully look at Mischa. Her hair was black, but had a hint of red shimmer. It was up in buns near the back of her head; much further up than Miaka had hers. It was easy to tell that Miaka was her cousin except for one thing: Her eyes. Mischa's eyes were a sky blue. Just as she had said, she was wearing all black: Including black nail polish and a long trench coat. No wonder I thought she was an assassin. "Mischa, where have you-" Miaka stopped when she saw Kumiko.

"Kumiko!!! Oh, It's good to see you! Where's Tasuki?" Kumiko shrugged. "I dunno. He probably went back to the bar." Miaka cocked her head. "You two aren't still fighting, are you?" Kumiko shook her head. "Not really. We worked things out…sorta." Miaka laughed. "Well as long as you're not telling each other to screw off anymore." Mischa looked confused. "Who's Tasuki?" "He's annoying." Both Miaka and Kumiko said simultaneously. "Oh. Well, thanks for warning me." At that exact moment Tasuki came through the door.

"So, you didn't happen to kill any assassins did you Kumiko?" He grinned. She jokingly stuck out her tongue. "Oh shut up. She's right here. And she isn't quite an assassin. She's the priestess of Genbu." Tasuki shrugged. "Eh, close enough." Mischa raised her eyebrows slightly. "Tasuki, this is my cousin Mischa. Mischa, this is Tasuki." Tasuki surveyed Mischa. "She's weird." He concluded. "I wouldn't talk. You've got some pretty odd features yourself." Mischa shot back. Miaka looked slightly worried. "Not again," she whispered to Kumiko.

"Well it's better than looking like a dead person," he commented. With a blink of an eye, a shiruken star was less than an inch away from Tasuki's face, deeply rooted in the wood of the doorframe. "Oh Mischa! That was Sooo cool! You did that perfectly! Ooh do it again do it again!" Miaka shrieked in excitement. "What do you mean? I missed." Mischa said. Tasuki took out his tessin. "Tasuki, do threaten everybody you don't like with that thing?" Kumiko asked. "Have since I got it," He grinned. "Be careful Mischa, that thing shoots fire. He lit my hair on fire four days ago," Kumiko pointed out. "Don't worry. If he wants to fight with fire, I've got it covered." She took out a lighter, which gave a small flame. "Oh god. She's done for," Miaka said.

Tasuki stared at it. "How did you do that without a spell?" Mischa blinked. "Thank god for evolution," she said, putting it back in her pocket. She brushed past Kumiko and said, "you didn't say he was that annoying." She went into the other room. Tasuki turned to Miaka. "You didn't tell me you had friends more annoying than Kumiko," he told her. "Hey!" She punched his arm. "I was just kidding!" He rubbed his arm and gave her a look. She grinned. "Guess I don't know my own strength."

"So, you and Miaka are cousins?" Kumiko had walked out of the room to talk to Mischa. "Yea, on my dad's side. He's Miaka's uncle." Kumiko smiled. "I met Miaka when I was in…I think 2nd grade. I moved to Japan from America. I had NO idea how to speak Japanese. But I learned pretty fast. I was lucky I didn't get held back a grade. Although, that would have put me in Miaka and Yui's grade." "I'm a senior this year. I graduate in the spring." Suddenly Mischa's eyes grew wide. "SHIT!!!!" She yelled, pounding on her forehead. "I'm a baka, I'm a baka, I'm a baka," She kept repeating. Miaka ran into the room.

"What?" She asked her cousin. "I forgot to turn in my college application!" Mischa was now banging her head on the wall. "For which one? I thought you had a bunch," Miaka said. "Yea, I turned those in, but I don't really want to go there. I forgot to turn in my application to go to art school." Mischa persisted to pound her head on the wall. "No offense Miaka, but your cousin's a wack job." Tasuki was standing in the doorframe watching Mischa. She flipped him off and continued to pound her head. "Well, that's what, the second time in a week, Tasuki?" Kumiko teased. "Try fifteenth." Miaka muttered.

"That's not funny!" He folded his arms, slightly pouting. "Sure it is!" Tamahome came up behind him. "Oh shut up." Tasuki glared at Tamahome, who returned the glance. "Tasuki doesn't have that many friends does he?" Kumiko asked. "Last time I counted, it was like…5." Miaka giggled. "If you're done torturing me with mean comments, I'd like to leave!" He began tapping his foot impatiently. "Aww…. but that's no fun!" Kumiko pouted. "Not my fault you're not fun. You won't even get wasted." Tasuki's comment made the room go slightly silent, except for Mischa's continuous pounding.

"Tasuki, come here," He leaned in at Kumiko, who flicked his nose. "Ow! That hurt!" He rubbed at his nose, where her finger had hit. "No shit Sherlock That's what you get for being a baka." Kumiko laughed slightly. He was so stupid, and it was amusing to take advantage of his ignorance. She suddenly felt a sharp pain in her ear. Tasuki had flicked it. "Hey!" She glared. "Well that's what you get for being a woman," He mocked. "No, a monthly friend is what you get for being a woman."

Kumiko, Mischa and Miaka laughed why Tasuki and Tamahome stared at them dumbstruck. "A monthly friend?" Tamahome repeated aloud. Tasuki shrugged. "Women are weird. And stupid. And Annoying. And…" His list went on. He failed to notice that nobody was listening anymore. "Sorta sounds like your complaining about yourself, no da." Chichiri had entered the room, his `catlike' mask upon his face. "Hiya Chichiri! It's been a few days." Kumiko smiled brightly at him, her face looking slightly like Chichiri's mask. "Where's Emperor Hotohori?" She asked. "He's back in his palace. He had to stay behind, no da."

Kumiko pouted. "Aww, I wanted to thank him. The weapons he let me borrow are awesome. Saved my life a few times." "And that sword of yours almost TOOK mine," Mischa commented. Chichiri raised an eyebrow. "She thought I was an assassin and she tried to kill me." Tamahome blinked. "And you're getting along?" Kumiko shrugged. "Well, she forgave me for my stupidity, so yea." Miaka yawned. "I'm tired, I'm about ready to fall of to sleep right here as I stand." "Oh yea, I was meaning to ask you, where are the owners of this house?" Kumiko hadn't seen anyone. "They're in one of the other rooms. They've been kind enough to let strangers stay in this house."

Just then, a woman came in told them where they all could sleep. Kumiko thanked her graciously for her hospitality. Her eyes began to droop and she tried not to yawn. Everyone else seemed to be ready to sleep as well. "I'm off to bed guys. See ya in the morning." Kumiko got the chance to sleep on a mattress for the first time in days, which she was extremely thankful for. It made it easier to sleep. The candles were put out, and soon only Kumiko was consumed by the peaceful dreaming of her subconscious mind.

She awoke in the morning to the sounds of laughter and loud voices. She sat up to see Mischa had Tasuki up against the wall. His eyes were wide with terror and he seemed to be trembling. "What are you doing to him?" Kumiko got up and ran over to him. "I'm threatening him, what does it look like?" Mischa grinned. "The `almighty' Tasuki is afraid of water." She motioned to the bucket of cold water she had in her hand. "Oh stop. He's not all that bad."

Kumiko was surprised at Tasuki's sudden fear of water, but knew that he had avoided telling her. "Not until I get what I want." Mischa's grin grew wider. "Say `Mischa is all powerful' and I'll put down the water." Tasuki glared at her. "No way! I'm not going to say it!" Mischa's hands grew tighter on the bucket of water. "Do it, or else." Tasuki sighed. "Mischa is all powerful," He said reluctantly. A look of satisfaction on her face, Mischa put down the bucket. Tasuki stormed out of the house. "Good going." Kumiko followed him out.

She found him sitting on the ledge of the hill where she had threatened Mischa the previous night. "You didn't tell me you were afraid of water." Tasuki didn't say anything. "Well, I can see why you wouldn't. I don't just go around telling strangers stuff like that." He was still silent. "Oh come on Tasuki, it's not all that bad-" "Yes it is! It is if you come from a group of people who trust you to be their fearless leader. Where I come from you can't just be afraid of something that stupid." "But it isn't stupid," Kumiko insisted. "If you wanna know stupid, you should here what I'm afraid of." She sat down next to him. He turned and looked at her. "What are you afraid of that could possibly worse than that?" Kumiko turned away and blushed slightly. "You'd laugh." "No I wouldn't. Tell me." He insisted. She sighed and looked back at him. "Only if you promise not to laugh." "My honor." She blinked. "Yea, but do thieves really have honor?" She asked. "Just tell me!" he urged. "Okay fine." She took a deep breath and uttered, "Unrequited love." Her words were barely more than a whisper. "What was that, I didn't hear you."

"Unrequited love." This time her words were more audible. "Oh." "Stupid I know," She said. He shook his head, "No, it's not stupid. It's just…I can't see you being afraid of something like that." "Yea well, it scares me. Dealing with it isn't fun either." They were silent. " I almost drowned when I was little. My family wasn't near by and I didn't know how to swim. Still don't. That's why I've always been afraid of water." Kumiko nodded. "I don't know, I've always sorta been afraid of Unrequited love. More so know than before. Especially after what happened to Yui." She thought about Yui's love for Tamahome, and having to live with the fact that she would lose him to her best friend.

"What did happen?" Tasuki apparently wasn't told. "Miaka doesn't like talking about it, but both her and Yui were in love with Tamahome. But Tamahome loved Miaka. When Miaka left and came back, she told Yui that she came back to rescue her, but told Tamahome it was because she loved him. Yui found out. Know they're not friends anymore. And what's worse, blood is being shed." Kumiko looked down at her dangling feet. "I see." "Look, we should probably go back inside. But when we go, don't let Mischa get to you. Just, walk away from the argument." He laughed nervously. "Yea, but that's the thing, I really can't just walk away from an argument." Kumiko smiled. "I'll tell you a little bit about that. If you walk away, you win." With that, she got up and went back inside, followed by Tasuki.

"There you are Kumiko. Did you have to save the coward?" Mischa smirked. Tasuki felt his temper rise, but Kumiko touched his hand and gave him a pleading look. For some reason, it soothed him. "No. Tasuki and I just had a little talk." She pushed him into the other room before Mischa could say another word. They found Chiriko, Mitsukake, Chichiri and Nuriko lounging in the next room. They were occupying themselves with various things that looked oddly familiar to Kumiko. "Where did you get that stuff?" She asked. "Oh, it was in a bag over there, no da." Chichiri pointed to Kumiko's bag, which lay open on the floor.

"Gimme my stuff back!" She snatched her cd player, watch, notebook and pencil (of all things) from them.

"I was playing with that!" Nuriko whined at her, trying to get the watch back. "Do you even know what it is?" Kumiko held it out of his reach. He shook his head. "No, but I was figuring it out." Tasuki grinned. "Liar. You were probably no closer to `figuring it out' than you are to becoming a woman!" "Watch it Tasuki," Kumiko warned. But Nuriko only twisted his arm back simply and said, "Oh no harm done. To me anyways. Tasuki's tactless, and thus, he pays." "Ow! Nuriko! Stop stop stop!" Tasuki whined in pain. Kumiko blinked. "Nuriko's been taking vocabulary lessons from Chiriko," She concluded. Nuriko shrugs. "Well, if you're around him enough, it sorta automatically happens, no da," Chichiri said. Miaka came into the room and looked from person to person. "Uh Nuriko, you might want to let go of Tasuki's arm," Chiriko suggested. Nuriko let go and tried his best to look innocent. Tasuki rubbed his arm and said, "Ask Kumiko. She's a witness."

"I'm gonna ignore all that stuff and tell you the good news," Miaka said. "The woman who let us stay here agreed to let us stay a few more days!" "Why?" Kumiko asked. Not that she didn't enjoy sleeping on a nice mattress, but it confused her to why Miaka wouldn't want to summon Suzaku as soon as possible so she could go home. "Oh, well, you know that we just got here. It's best to rest, since we've been traveling. Besides, we need to wait for Hotohori to meet us." Kumiko nodded. "Gotcha."

"I'm hungry, how `bout you guys?" Miaka suddenly said. Kumiko sighed. "Miaka, I swear, you're always hungry. I left Kyoto with a lot of my money thinking I'd pay for the bill!" The two girls laughed slightly. The woman, Rinlai, as Miaka called her, came in with bowls of rice with chicken and oriental spices.

"Eat up," She said brightly. Kumiko smiled at her. "How can we ever repay you for all you've done?" Rinlai shook her head. "No need. My payment is seeing the joy on my visitor's faces." Rinlai left and Kumiko grabbed a bowl before Miaka could finish her third. "Mischa, get in here before your cousin devours all the food." At light speed Mischa was in and out of the room so fast she was only a blur.

"Ok then." When Kumiko was full, she left the boisterous room to find Mischa. Mischa sat on a chair with her legs crossed and her feet sticking out. Her combat boots lay on the floor beneath the table, out of anybody's way. She had a small piece of paper and was drawing on it with a pencil. "There you are." Kumiko said, as she sat down beside her. "Hey," Mischa didn't look up at her, only continued drawing. "Whatcha making?" Mischa didn't answer for a second. "Oh, you know, just doodling. Nothing else here to do. But bother Tasuki. And of course, you won't let me do that."

"Hey, no hard feelings or anything. I just thing Tasuki's been in a foul mood. Miaka said he's usually really light hearted, kind and fun, but since I've met him, he's been crabby." "That's because he hates girls," Mischa answered, rolling her eyes. "Yea, it's true. He's sorta a misogynist," Kumiko answered truthfully. "In English?" Kumiko smiled slightly and answered, "I'm agreeing with you. Misogynist means he doesn't value nor care for women." "Sounds like Tasuki alright," Mischa still hadn't looked up.

Night quickly came, as there was nothing really to do. Though it would be nice to relax, Kumiko almost wished that they could move on with their journey and get to the temple. Kumiko mostly spent her time listening to her cd player curled in a corner of the room. The music soothed her and helped the pain she held ease slightly. "PM5K?" Mischa asked, hearing the music. Kumiko nodded. Mischa gave her thumbs up. "Awesome band."

As Kumiko lie in bed that night a thought hit her: Her birthday was tomorrow. October 7th. "I wonder what Mom's doing right now, knowing I'll be missing on my birthday," She thought aloud. She sighed. She already knew her birthday would be horrible; nobody would remember. And he wouldn't be there….Kumiko thought about her father's final gift. She fingered at it and clasped it tightly in her grasp. She wouldn't take it off, not ever. Sleep finally over came the girl as she yawned and closed her eyes.

Kumiko once again awoke to the sounds of angry voices. "Oh not again," She thought. "Kumiko! This time you HAVE to side with me!" Mischa yelled. "He's gone TOO far." She opened her eyes and sat up. "What is it this time?" She asked listlessly. "He called me a transvestite!" Kumiko winced. Now he deserved it; and everyone knew it. "Why am I all of the sudden the peace keeper?" She asked irritably. "Because you ARE the peacemaker! You're the priestess of four gods!" Tasuki exclaimed. "Oh yea. Oops. Forgot about that." She laughed slightly to herself at got up.

"How about both of you just shut up and not talk to each other?" She suggested. They both glared at each other and walked away. "Thank god," Kumiko whispered. "Gods," Chiriko pointed out, "There's four." Kumiko nodded weakly, feeling stupid. "Does anybody know where my stuff is? I'm really starting to miss my school uniform." Kumiko soon found her bag, and grabbed her school uniform. It was dry, and very clean; it looked as if nothing at touched it since it was purchased. "The river," Kumiko smiled. She had come so close to her death that day, and here she was on her birthday still alive. But how much longer would she live?

Kumiko shook the thoughts. She changed into it, and stepped out of the house for fresh air. The morning was a beautiful one; the sky was a azure blue and wispy cirrus clouds dotted the sky. Birds sang and children from the village ran to and fro, playing happily. She smiled. She was glad it was such a beautiful day, after all, her birthday wouldn't be much fun otherwise. So far nobody's noticed, She thought. She was almost sure Miaka would remember, after all, they had been friends for a long time. She had told Tasuki, but chances were he wouldn't remember.

Wanting a chance to look around, Kumiko walked through the town. Now that she was wearing her school uniform, she looked a little out of place. But Kumiko didn't mind, if she was quiet and swept past them as normally as everyone else, nobody noticed. People were selling things. Many of them had animals or vegetation to sell. Others had fine goods, like silk and linen. One trader even had metal and iron objects; which she figured were quite rare for a small village. Then she saw it: A pair of glimmering eyes that seemed to follow her. She started to feel uneasy; with other people around, she didn't know what this person would do. She started to push quickly through the crowd, hoping to get away from whoever was following her.

But to no avail, whoever it was kept perusing her. She hid behind a house away from the others, hoping her tracker hadn't seen. Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder. She spun around to see only Tasuki. "Where the hell do you think you're going?" He asked. "None of your business," She said, wondering why he wanted to know, and why he had used such a tone. "Actually it is. If you think you can run around places like this and not get into trouble, you're wrong." Her face hardened. "I'm not an infant, I can take care of myself Y'know." She pushed his hand off of her shoulder. "Doesn't seem like it. How many times have I had to save you? I'm your Suzaku guardian, I'm supposed to protect you!" Kumiko felt her anger rise. "You know what Tasuki, just fuck off. I don't need you as my shadow!" She covered her mouth, but it was too late; the damage had been done. Tasuki shrugged and turned his heel.

"Dammit," She bit her lip. This day wasn't going as well as she expected. She was about ready to pull out her hair. Just as she was finally starting to get along with Tasuki she had to go and let her temper rise. And why the hell am I a Libra again? She thought as she kicked a rock. Kumiko sighed. What would she do now? She reviewed her options. One, she could go back and apologize to Tasuki for being so stupid, or she could stay out amongst the people until she felt like going back. No, I won't go back. She decided. That'll make this even worse. The last thing I want is to explain to Mischa and Miaka why we're fighting again. She slumped against the house and sighed. There wasn't a way out of this, though she wished it so.

Suddenly, a hand reached up to her mouth and she was pulled inside the house. Kumiko tried to scream, but couldn't. The hand immediately let go of her and she turned. "What the hell?" She exclaimed. The figure that lay before her was none other than Tai Itsukun. "Tai Itsukun!" She bowed her head. "What did I tell you about that language?" Tai Itsukun warned. Kumiko blushed and apologized. "Sorry. Sometimes they slip." "Do not trouble yourself with quarrels. They will only bring you to more pain and agony. I understand you have many emotions struggling to surface.

"Like what?" Kumiko asked. "Like your grief. I can sense the pain you feel in your heart for your father's death-" "-That's none of your business!" Kumiko defended. "And then there's your anger. It brings out the worst in you. You'll want to be careful about that. If you really want to be the priestess of four gods, you're going to have to control that anger. Be the person you were before. Be not the person you are becoming. That will only bring trouble." "How?" Kumiko asked, feeling helpless. "Know that your father is with you. He loves you, even though you cannot sense it. But if you try, you can feel it in your heart." Kumiko searched, but couldn't grasp the concept of her father being with her.

"What do I do about the assassins?" Kumiko asked. "You must fight them off the best you can. That is why you have Tasuki. And when you contact the four gods, they will tell you of the other three." "But what do I DO with them? Tasuki isn't much help," She said scornfully. "But isn't he?" Tai Itsukun answered. "You shall receive the blessing of your senshi. And that will be enough. They needn't be with you always." Kumiko nodded. "But-" Kumiko silenced herself, for Tai Itsukun had disappeared. But Kumiko heard her voice resonate through her mind: "Don't worry. I'll be at the Kyoto Temple Waiting for You," Kumiko sighed. "Whatever."

She stepped outside to see the sun slowly reaching the horizon. How had the day passed so quickly? It was morning when she had wandered around, so how could it be evening now? Tai Itsukun must have taken more time then I thought… Once again, the feeling of unease overcame her as a decision once again lay before her. Would she go back, as Tai Itsukun suggested, or would she find someplace else to go? I'll go back soon, she thought, but not just yet. There's somewhere I have to go first. She made her way to the top of the hillside, where the sunset was clear. She looked down at the house and sighed. "Miaka really did forget," She said softly.

Although she had no watch, Kumiko guessed it was sometime around 5:00; when she had been born. "Happy birthday to me, Happy birthday to Me, Happy Birthday dear Kumiko, Happy Birthday to me," She sang, her voice quivering with sadness. She felt very lonely, sitting all by herself on her 16th birthday. "So your what, 16 now?" She head a voice say. Kumiko turned her head. Tasuki was standing there looking down at her. How long he had been there, she didn't know. "You still pissed at me?" She asked. "What, for telling me to Fuck off? Well, not as pissed as before, no. I'm trying to cut you some slack since it's your birthday and all. He grinned, and Kumiko grinned back: He had remembered.

Kumiko stood up. "Thanks." He shrugged. "Eh, not like I've never been a pain in the ass." She replied, "Yea well, you're not so bad." He started to walk away when she said, "And Tasuki?" He turned, "Yea?" "I didn't mean any of it." "Do you ever?" He asked in reply. She shook her head. She turned back toward the sunset. Tasuki took a few more steps, then stopped. "Aren't you coming?" He asked. "In a minute," she replied, "I just want to look at the sunset a little more." Tasuki turned around and stood next to her. He put a hand on her shoulder and said, "Pretty, isn't it?" Kumiko nodded. "Yup. I used to be able to watch them from my bedroom window."

"C'mon, let's go," She said suddenly, grabbing his sleeve and pulling him along. "Okay okay, I'm coming!" He followed her inside. When Kumiko opened the door she was greeted by a large yell of "SURPRISE!" Kumiko gasped. Everyone was smiling and happy. "You didn't think we'd forget your birthday, did you?" Mischa asked, handing her a hand drawn card. "I know it isn't much but, Oh Kumiko, we really wanted to make your birthday special." Kumiko hugged Miaka tightly. "You guys, this rocks. I've never had such a surprise in my life. I have to say, this birthday was a real surprise." She looked over at Tasuki who smiled at her. It wasn't one of his sly smiles either: It was a genuine one.

There was much merry making that evening. Tasuki had rushed to the bar and gotten lots of drinks, although the only he, Tama home and Nuriko ended up drunk. Kumiko knew Miaka was right: Tasuki could be lighthearted and kind when he felt like it. Even Mischa couldn't deny that. Kumiko went to bed that night the happiest she had been in weeks. She had completely forgotten to mope about her family's absence. She was presented with few gifts, but all of them were quite meaningful. The dreams that reached Kumiko that night were of happy things; her family, friends and favorite pastimes. She slept well; almost knowing it would last only until morning.