Fushigi Yuugi Fan Fiction ❯ Suzaku no Saiai ❯ Chapter 5

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Suzaku no Saiai










Part 5















Standard disclaimer: Fushigi Yuugi is copyrighted by Watase Yuu, Shogakukan, TV Tokyo,

Movic, and Studio Pierrot, and maybe some other people, if I forgot anyone.^^; Anyway,

please don't sue, me. I'm just a poor college student. Kourin and Jin Feng were created by

me, but I'm not responsible for their actions in this fanfic. I can't control them

anymore! If you think you might be more successful controlling them, feel free to borrow

them. Just drop me a line at jscaife@austin.rr.com to let me know.







Nuriko was walking down a sunny road towards Eiyou, Konan's capital. In the distance he

could see the red roof of the palace, and he smiled at the thought of seeing Hotohori

again...,"but...what about Kourin?" he asked himself uncertainlly, and the smile

faltered.



"What about the girl?" an eerily familiar voice asked from behind him.



Nuriko turned and tried to restrain a scream. "T...T...Taiitsukun!" he

gasped.



"Who did you expect? Suzaku himself?" the creator snapped. "We need to

talk."



"I can't right now, Taiitsukun," he blushed. How could he be telling the

creator of his universe that he was too busy to pass the time of day with her...him...it?

"I'm doing something for Kourin..."



"That girl is precisely the topic of our conversation," the powerful

god(dess) snapped. "Stay away from her, Nuriko, or you won't live to regret it! She

has a higher purpose to fulfill than making a man of you!"



"But..." the young man protested.



Taiitsukun fixed him with her imperious gaze. "I don't want to hear any protests

from you! It was bad enough Miaka and Tamahome fell in love, but that's expected of the

Mikos and their protectors, but now you have to fall in love with her!"



"Why don't you just tell me who Kourin really is, and why she's here?" Nuriko

begged.



"You don't need to know!" Taiitsukun informed him brusquely. "Just keep

your hands off her! She chose you to be her protector through all this, so throw away your

feelings and be a Seishi!""Matte, Taiitsukun!" Nuriko creid. "I

still have questions."



"Go to the palace," the unrelenting reply floated back. "You will find

some of your answers there."



Puzzled, Nuriko continued his journey back towards the capital. Something was very

strange. No one was around, and the normally bustling city lay silent. "What's going

on here?" he muttered to himself. "There aren't even any guards at the palace

gates."



He warily entered the silent palace. Not even the footstep of a scurrying servant

marred the eerie quiet. Nuriko looked into the throne room; empty, as were the kitchens

and all the other rooms he'd explored. Unconciously, he'd saved Suzaku's shrine for last.

Nuriko put his hand on the door to swing it open and stopped. "What's the point? No

one's at all is here. Taiitsukun didn't know what she was talking about."



"Who's there?" came a sweet melodious voice. "Tasukete, onegai!"



"Where are you?" Nuriko called back. "I'll help you."



"I'm in the shrine," the voice sobbed. "Onegai, I'm in the shrine."



Nuriko forced the doors open and strode in. A beautiful young woman of about his age

sat on the floor next to the statue of Suzaku. She wore a golden dress that sparkled and

shimmered about her body and long, golden hair framed her face. She had lifted her head at

the sound of his approach, and he could see that her eyes were the same shimmering gold

colour as her dress, and her skin seemed to be infused with a golden light.



"Onegai, free me from my chains," the mysterious girl begged. She lifted her

hair so the young man could see the collar and chain binding her to the statue of Suzaku.



"Who did this to you?" Nuriko gasped in shock. "Why would someone leave

you here?"



"It was a very silly little mortal," the girl replied disdainfully. "She

resists me now, but sooner or later she will yield to me."



"Why do you need a mortal at all?" the Suzaku seishi asked, amazingly having

made the leap from human girl to immortal. "If this one is being so difficult, can't

you just find another one?"



The girl sniffed. "Unfortunately, it has to be in the blood, and usually only one

girl every thousand years has the ability to merge with me. It's just my bad luck that the

silly fool wants to be with her human lover!" She gestured at the wall idly, and a

scene of a couple in a grassy meadow appeared. The picture zoomed in to show their faces,

and Nuriko gasped.



"That's Kourin and Hotohori-sama!" he cried.



Kourin smiled up at Hotohori, and the air between them pulsed with energy. Hotohori

took the girl's face in his hands and kissed her passionately.



Nuriko leapt towards the wall. "Kourin, no!"



"Ah, I understand," the golden girl smiled maliciously. "You're the one

she's chosen as her protector. Poor fools, they always fall in love with the mortal

vessels. She's not meant for you, you know." She lazily stretched as best she could

with her chain. "Why don't you help me? At least then he won't get to have her

either. If you free me, I can promise that."



Nuriko looked at her with eyes burning in fury. He carefully walked over to the young

woman, and menace loomed in every angle of his body. "You bitch!" he spat and

slapped her across the face.



Her neck twisted to the side grotesquely, and the young man was finally able to see the

girl's back which had been carefully hidden against the base of the statue.



"Gold wings? You have gold wings?" he stammered in shock. "Enough with

your trickery! Who are you, and what do you want with Kourin?"



The girl, or was it woman for she suddenly seemed to mature, laughed triumphantly.

"I am Jin Feng, the youngest of the four heavenly consorts. I am the golden

phoenix."



"Masaka!" the young man exclaimed. "Are you saying that you are the

physical form of the golden phoenix constellation?"



"Don't be foolish," Jin Feng scoffed. "I need a human female to achieve

my physical form and take my place in the heavens. My three sisters, Lü Wugui, Mu Hu, and

Bai Long, merged with humans long ago. I alone have waited for thousands of years for a

daughter of the golden phoenix to wander into this plane..."



"Why don't you just speak to Kourin?" Nuriko asked. "She's had a hard

life, and I'm sure she can share your pain. It would be easier on you both if she

voluntarily merges with you, ne?"



"But she has resisted me for so long," the phoenix woman sighed. "Can

her mind be changed?"



"I only know that Kourin must be the one to open that collar," the seishi

answered. "I doubt I'm even capable of removing it."



"I see," Jin Feng smiled sweetly. "Well, brave warrior, you have taught

me something. What is it; do I have something on my face?"



"You and Kourin have the same smile," Nuriko said. "I think you may be

merging already."



"We are two halves of the same whole," the phoenix woman said gently. "I

am Kourin, and she is me. It is just that we can exist seperately. The

merger of the two is more of an acceptance of the mystical nature within, but that is

enought of a lecture, Suzaku seishi. I think your body is getting lonesome for you soul,

and Kourin needs you. When I fully awaken I will not forget you. Mata ne!"



Kourin woke with the first light of the sun the next morning. A secretive smile hovered

around her lips. Hotohori had been most charming and solicitous of her desires. However,

she had the uneasy feeling that someone had called out in pain, begging for her to come

back... She rolled over to meet Nuriko's eyes across the dead fire. For a second she saw a

hint of accusation and passion in the burgandy depths, but almost instantly they changed

to become cold and flat, revealing nothing.



"You'd better get up and began packing," he said casually. "We have to

hurry back to Konan."



The rest of the day passed by uneasily. Nuriko tried to ignore his instinctive reaction

to Kourin's closeness and treated Kourin a little more coldly because of his discomfort.

The girl, on the other hand, was terribly confused by Nuriko's swift turn around and

treated him more high handedly than normal. Needless to say, they were not speaking to

each other, AGAIN, by the time they settled down for the night.



"Geez, Kourin's gone to bed early again!" Nuriko grumbled to himself.

"Well, it's not as if we had much to say anyway. I might as well turn in and see if I

can have a more pleasant dream tonight."



Nuriko found himself standing in the infamous meadow from the night before. Kourin

stood alone as if she waited for someone. Hotohori soon appeared rapidly crossing the

misty expanse. The couple embraced passionately for several minutes. When they finally

broke apart Hotohori extended his hand to Kourin.



"Kourin-chan," he murmured huskily, "aishiteru. I can't live like this

only seeing you for fleeting moments and never knowing if you'll return...to me. Come with

me, onegai. I want you to be with me forever!"



"Well, that was fast," Nuriko thought sourly before returning his attention

to the tableau.



Hotohori knelt at Kourin's feet with his hand still extended, and the girl's eyes

widened. "Hotohori, you're the emperor. You shouldn't be kneeling to me." She

tried to pull him to his feet, but her imperial suitor pushed her away.



"I make myself your servant out of my love for, Kourin," he said

passionately. "Will you accept my unworthy heart?"



"It's far too good for me!" the girl cried and threw herself into his arms.

"Atashi mo aishiteru, Hotohori!"



Hotohori kissed Kourin again with a ferocity that belied his reserved nature. "Be

mine, Kourin,"he whispered fervently. "Become one with me."



Nuriko could stand apart no longer. He exploded into the light and grabbed Kourin's

arm. "Don't you dare go, Kourin!" he exclaimed.



"Nuriko? What are you doing here?" she demanded, slightly confused.



"Apparently, to keep you from commiting a gross error!" Nuriko snapped.

"What do you think you're doing?"



"My personal life is none of your affair, Nuriko," Kourin said with her usual

acidity. Mentally she pushed him away, and Nuriko looked on in horror through her chi

barrier. His heart felt as though it might explode from the pain, but he could not tear

his eyes from the pair.



Hotohori bent and whispered something in her ear and blushed. The girl dropped her gaze

and shyly nodded her head. Her lover lifted her in his arms and murmured, "You won't

regret this, Kourin! At long last I have found my empress." She hugged his neck, and

they disappeared into the mists together.



Nuriko awoke himself with his painfilled scream. The dream was so vivid in his mind,

"but how much was dream and how much reality?" he asked himself. Across the fire

he heard Kourin moaning in pleasure, and he desperately tried to shut out the image of

Hotohori leading her away into the mist. "It would be so easy to take Hotohori's

physical role," he thought, but Taiitsukun's words from the previous night

reverberated in his mind. "Just keep your hands off her! She chose you to be her

protector through all this, so throw away her feelings and be a seishi!"



"I really must forget that I have ever cared for this woman," Nuriko told

himself harshly. "You live only to protect her and Miaka. Be a man and a seishi,

Ryuuen!"



Starting the next morning their relationship took a much more utilitarian turn due to

Nuriko's strengthened resolve, and Kourin became rather deservedly frustrated. He suddenly

began requesting seperate rooms for them at inns, and he would disappear into taverns and

various places that she could not go. What hurt most of all was his cold attitude towards

her. It wasn't that she wanted him to be madly in love with her, but she would at

least like him to be friendly. Kourin sighed and placed her chin in her hand.



"Are you feeling all right?" Nuriko inquired solicitously. "We can stop

and rest if you like."



"No, I'm not fine!" Kourin almost yelled. She twisted around as best she

could to face him. "You've been avoiding me ever since the first night we camped out!

If I did something to bother you at least let me know what it is!"



"You don't remember what happened the second night we camped out?" Nuriko

asked incredulously. "No matter. My behavior has nothing to do with you, Kourin, and

everything to do with me," he said turning his face away from her furious gaze.

"I am your protector. I have to keep a barrier between us or I won't be as

effective."



"What kind of bullshit is that?"the girl exclaimed. "That doesn't mean

that we can't be friends, just that we shouldn't be lovers."



"Kourin, it was easier to lock all my feelings for you away than to pick and

choose which to keep and which to discard," Nuriko explained. He nervously looked for

a conversation topic to diffuse the situation. "Look, we've reached the hill over

looking the capital!"



The girl's eyes widened at the expanse of rooftops before her. "Sugoi, Nuriko!

Which one is the palace?"







Glossary





Matte -- wait

Tasukete -- help

onegai -- please

aishiteru -- to love someone. Hotohori tells Kourin that he loves her. Her

answering sentence, "Atashi mo aishiteru" is "I love you too."

"Atashi" is a more feminine form of "watashi", "I", and

"mo" is "too".

masaka -- impossible, unbelievable

Mata ne -- Basically, "see you later". An informal farewell.












< br>



Questions? Comments? Suggestions?



Wow, this is a long

story! Might as well read Part 6 since I've read this far.*shrug*^^



I can't stand it any

more! Kourin's developing a Miaka complex!



© 1997 jscaife@austin.rr.com