Fushigi Yuugi Fan Fiction ❯ The Boys Of Yesterday ❯ The Boys Of Yesterday ( One-Shot )

The Boys Of Yesterday

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fushigi Yuugi. I also do not own the translated version of the lyrics to the Hikitsu/Tomite song, Kimi ga Hohoemu nara (English translation: If You Smile). It rox, you should listen to it.

This fic is dedicated to Eulene, who is doing a damn good job of writing about the Genbu no miko. Keep up the good work, and good luck for the O' Levels!! ^^

I would also like to make it very clear that the characterizations of the seishi in this fic are purely from my imagination. I did not copy them from the fics of other authors. Thus any similarities are coincidental.

********** = end and start of lyrics

########## = switch of POV between Hikitsu and Tomite

That's all, minna-san!! Enjoy!!

The Boys Of Yesterday

Hikitsu:

We were the last of our group.

The only ones still on the mortal realm, that is.

**********

The foreign lullaby you sing to yourself…

I thought I could hear

Its sweet, heartbreaking melody.

Ah…Is it alright to rest?

No matter how much time passes,

The flame that burned the sky

Continues endlessly.

Ah…Fighting against.

**********

If someone ever tells you that it is a blessing to be immortalized, they are lying.

Living a life of an immortal is a living hell, pun fully intended. Only that this hell would never end.

How could immortality be a blessing when all you can do is to stand there and watch people whom you love slowly die around you?

How could immortality be a blessing when you know that there is nothing you can do to help them? That you are utterly helpless?

How could immortality be a blessing?

No, it is a curse.

Imagine Tomite's and my reaction when we realized what was happening to us.

Yes, I would admit that we were extremely joyful at first. But that faded soon after, especially when we realized that only the two of us were chosen.

What about the rest?

Takiko?

Uruki?

Hatsui?

What about them?

**********

An anguished prayer on behalf of all people

And then a worn-out, sad person.

**********

"No," Genbu had said. "They are not going to be immortalized like the two of you."

They were going to be reincarnated.

All of their memories of swashbuckling adventures, true friendships and shared hardship together with us would be erased.

It was a bitter realization.

The two of us did not even get to say our farewell. We were told to stay on the mortal realm instead, to guard the stupid Shinzaho.

I was furious.

The Shinzaho was but an object. True, it was a celestial gift from Genbu, but our friendship with each other, the bonds that the eight of us shared, they would forever be infinitely more important than a mere inanimate entity.

**********

If you smile,

I can take any kind of pain;

Even if this body perishes.

If you smile,

I'm sure my spirit will be resurrected,

Because I was born

To protect your dreams

**********

But orders are orders, and we cannot refute our duties. We were bound to this Shinzaho for as long as eternity, for all we knew.

After all, isn't this Shinzaho the reason why we are immortalized in the first place?

##########

Tomite:

I was beginning to hate this life that I am being forced to lead. This dratted, immortal, life.

I hate the Shinzaho.

Because of it, Hikitsu and I have to suffer.

We wandered around Hokkan, like a pair of lost children at first.

However, that was not for long.

Naze?

**********

I want to become much stronger.

I've wished for that.

I won't be driven off by weakness.

I won't be defeated by anyone.

Ah…I was revering myself

But when I met you,

For the first time, I realized

That no matter where you take my trust,

You take my love.

Ah…That's true strength.

**********

It was becoming more and more painful.

Because everywhere we go, we are bombarded by memories.

So many memories.

Some were bittersweet, others downright hilarious.

But always, we were always reminded of our friends. Fallen comrades. Our families. Our lives.

It is a wonder that those memories did not drive us to our knees.

I think Hikitsu felt the same way too, though I never asked.

It was too painful.

**********

You console and heal my frozen heart.

You're a gentle person, resembling the soft sunlight.

**********

Sometimes, we find ourselves involuntarily talking about our miko, or our fellow seishis.

These conversations always end awkwardly.

Thus, we try not to do that.

But it was hard.

It was very hard not to.

I suppose that it is because of the fact that the two of us were always unconsciously expecting them to come up and interrupt our conversation.

Still unconsciously thinking that we are still together.

One big family.

United.

We'd expect Takiko to rush in suddenly to try to convince us to do some stupid things with her.

We'd expect Uruki to float past on his wind and bash us on the head for no reason whatsoever.

We'd expect Hatsui to run to us, complaining about how the others are trying to get him to lose some weight.

We'd expect too much, and every time that happens, the bubble breaks and we fall hard.

Back to painful reality again.

**********

If you smile

I'd do anything for that.

Even if I live the kind of life that is only pain

If you smile

I'd overcome a thousand nights.

I promise that, until your dreams are realized,

I will not be defeated.

**********

That's why I hate the Shinzaho.

However, because of duty, we are obligated to do it, to guard the bloody thing.

But sometimes I think, and I realize that I should not be mad at this responsibility.

After all, it is duty that brought us Genbu shichi seishi and miko together.

It is duty that had given me all my best friends.

It is duty that had given me a sense of belonging.

I should be so glad.

But then, when I think a little more, I also realize that it is also duty that had parted us.

One full circle.

Duty has led me this far.

##########

Hikitsu:

By unspoken but mutual agreement, the two of us decided to find somewhere…not so poignant with memories.

We settle at last in a cave at the peak of Mount Black.

It was cold and dark, but we did not mind.

We were dead anyway, and thus could not feel anything.

Other than emotions.

Because of this reason, the cave was much better than the outside world.

The two of us were getting weary from all the memories that we had made with Takiko and the other seishis.

**********

If you smile,

I can take any kind of pain;

Even if this body perishes.

**********

So, we told Genbu of our decision, and surprisingly, he agreed.

He put in an alter for the Shinzaho and a huge pair of doors enclosed the shrine.

We guarded the shrine from petty robbers and thieves for the next three hundred years.

##########

Tomite:

The time spent in Mount Black was endless.

It was eternity to us.

We never saw the sky, so we do not know the time.

On and off, there would be a thief or two to entertain us, but most of the time, Hikitsu and I spent on talking.

Three hundred years was a very long time, and it is amazing that I used them all on reflections, on thinking about my life so far, on the good, and the bad.

There would be a lot of things I would like to change if I were to be able to turn back time.

**********

If you smile

I'd overcome a thousand nights.

I promise that, until your dreams are realized,

I will not be defeated.

**********

However, to my surprise, no matter how much I recall the time I spent as a seishi, protecting my miko and watching out for my fellow seishis, I know that I would never try to do anything to change one bit of it.

They were too perfect.

The best times of my life.

Somehow, I remember every little detail, like the first time I met Takiko and had mistaken her for Uruki's lover, like how Uruki and I used to duke it out and how Takiko used to employ her weapon on us to make us see sense.

I cannot help but smile at those memories…

All of a sudden, there was a huge rumbling sound outside.

I look at Hikitsu even when I myself felt a surge of hope.

Will the next person who comes in be the one to free us from this obligation, from this curse?

##########

Hikitsu:

The Suzaku no miko had proven her position by being able to break out of my power.

Only a miko can do that.

If there is anything that I have learnt from Takiko, it is that mikos are a stubborn lot. They do not give up easily.

`So this is the one whom we have been waiting for,' I thought.

"Suzaku no miko, will you please follow me?"

"Hai, Hikitsu-san."

I watched as the brunette followed behind Tomite and I.

The three of us, followed by her suspicious seishi, walked to the huge pair of doors that guard the shrine.

"Sugoi…" I heard her whisper.

I glance at Tomite before turning to the girl.

I was struck again at how different she looked from our Takiko.

The Suzaku no miko was smaller, a little rounder and very cheerful. However, I sense that she had a strong streak of determination that is not unlike our own miko.

"Anou…" She looked at me and I broke out of my thoughts.

"For three hundred years," I began. "Our sheer willpower had kept these doors closed. Now it is the time to reopen them."

Tomite and I focused on our ki briefly, and the doors creaked open.

The opening of the doors did something to me. It was a feeling as if a great weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I knew without doubt that Tomite was feeling the same way too.

We stepped into the shrine.

##########

Tomite:

"We wish you all the best in your summoning of Suzaku." I heard Hikitsu tell the small group.

The Suzaku no miko is a good person; that is glaringly obvious. It is also very apparent that her five seishi love her and would protect her out of love, not duty.

Again, this reminds me of how we, the Genbu shichi seishis were with Takiko.

I sincerely hope that none in this group will end up like Hikitsu or me.

"Hai, good luck." Which is why I said that impromptu.

I was not planning on talking much at all, but I sincerely wished all of them happiness, and that they would cherish every single moment together.

The girl turned then, to look at us.

"Where are you two going after we leave?"

I look at Hikitsu.

I can scarcely believe that our suffering is finally coming to an end.

"After these doors close, we will return to heaven." Hikitsu said.

The girl and her seishis seemed satisfied with that answer.

Their departing backs were the last things that we saw before the doors that we have so faithfully guarded for the past three hundred years closed gently for the last time.

**********

The foreign lullaby you sing to yourself…

After having waited for so long,

The morning sun rises.

Is it alright to rest now?

**********

~Owari~

Again, I hope that my characterization of Hikitsu and Tomite are not too OOC. If they are, I apologize now. However, it was rather hard to write about them as their characters were not fully formed in Fushigi Yuugi. But Yuu Watase's new comic, Genbu Kaiden, had given me some valuable insights as to how Tomite might behave. Still, as I said, it is very hard to write their characters. Which is why I really admire Eulene and all Genbu-related fanfic authors. Gambatte, all of you!!

Lastly, a big thank you to Nuriko no Mikos!! Thanks for helping me beta-edit this chapter!!

So, readers, please review this fic and tell me what you think. Arrigato, minna-san!!