Fushigi Yuugi Fan Fiction ❯ The Girl Who Didn't Believe ❯ Princess ( Chapter 21 )

The Girl Who Didn't Believe

Konnichiwa, minna-san!! ^^ This is chapter 21!! Hope you people like it!!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the FY characters. They belong to Yuu Watase. I do own Kitten and Sable though.

`…' = thoughts

//…// = telepathic conversation

########## = at another place

^^^^^^^^^^ = recall

********** = dream sequence

@@@@@@@@@@ = mirror projection

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

Chapter 21-Princess

Kamui returned to the dining hall to see two anxious faces.

"Where did you bring Sable, Kamui?"

Kitten was frowning.

"Hai, where is Sable, no da?" Even Chichiri was worried.

Tasuki was still dead to the world.

Kamui flicked a glance at the blue-haired seishi.

"She is tired, so I got her a room to rest in. I believe that she is sleeping now. We will wake her up when it is time to go."

"Sou ka…"Kitten relaxed. "Say, by the way, when can we leave, Kamui?"

Chichiri answered that for Kamui.

"Don't you know, Kitten, that nobody is to leave before the emperor does, no da?"

Kamui nodded.

"He is correct."

Kitten made a face.

"And when exactly will the emperor take his leave?"

A negligent shrug.

"It might be soon."

Chichiri shifted uncomfortably.

He had been sitting erect for the past four hours and he was beginning to lose all signs of feeling with certain parts of his body.

Kitten noticed Chichiri's awkward movements.

"Chichiri," The girl called out. "You should go and take a walk. You are getting numb, aren't you? It's really all right. I will stay here with Tasuki." Kitten paused then. "However, I think that you should leave the staff here. Just in case, you know?"

Chichiri sweatdropped but nodded. He was relieved to be able to take a little walk.

"Hai, Kitten." He stood up. "I will try not to take too long, no da."

Kitten nodded and ran her hand through Tasuki's hair tenderly.

"It's all right. Take your time. And think about what I just told you!!" She called after Chichiri.

Kamui stared at the blue-haired girl as she continued to stroke Tasuki's head. She seemed to be lost in her little world.

`What has she told Chichiri?' He wondered.

Nobody, Kitten included, noticed Kamui's departure.

##########

Chichiri found himself walking aimlessly along the palace. There were guards stationed at each and every entrance but they made no attempt to stop him. Soon, his legs brought him to the orchard where he and Miaka had witnessed the fight between Tasuki and the then Kodoku-influenced Tamahome.

Unbidden, images of that horrific night washed through him. This was the place that Tamahome had almost killed his fellow Suzaku shichi seishi. This was the place that all of them had almost got killed in. They had barely made it out of here alive. So many unpleasant memories were made here in this deceptively peaceful looking place.

Suddenly, Chichiri stiffened as he sensed the ki of another person in the orchard. He relaxed almost as quickly when he identified the person.

"Nice night, ne, Kamui, no da?"

Kamui appeared from the darkness as easily as if he was shedding a cloak.

"You are very good, Suzaku shichi seishi Chichiri."

Chichiri smiled.

"Hai, no da. Why exactly are you here, no da? I don't think that you came just to test my ki-sensing abilities, no da."

Kamui lowered his head.

"You are also very perceptive, and by the way, I think you know why, Chichiri. After all, we are rivals, ne?"

Chichiri started.

"I do not know what you are talking about." The man's tone was rigid and stilted.

Kamui would be a fool to miss that telltale sign.

"Iie, Chichiri. I think that you know exactly what I am talking about."

Chichiri turned to face the blonde.

"Sable and I, we have nothing going on with each other."

Kamui observed Chichiri.

`The man looks as if he is trying to convince himself rather than me. And rather unsuccessfully too.'

"Sou ka? Demo even I can sense the taut tension between you and her. Are you really sure that you do not have any interest in her? That I do not have to worry about you as my adversary?"

Chichiri nodded emphatically even as his heart protested.

`Chichiri!! You must not give way to him!! You mustn't!!'

Chichiri shook away the voice.

"Hai." The man said almost desperately. "You needn't worry about me. Sable and I, that's just not possible!!"

Narrowed ice-blue eyes stared at panic-stricken hazel-brown ones.

Chichiri broke the eye contact.

"Anou…gomen, Kamui. I think that I have been out too long, no da." The high-pitched quality of Chichiri's voice was back, together with his composure. "Kitten is waiting for me, no da. I should be going back."

Kamui merely stood there, staring at Chichiri emotionlessly.

The seishi was about to walk past Kamui when he paused for a moment.

"Really, Kamui. Don't worry about me being your rival. I have already given up all claims on Sable, no da." He choked on his next words. "I wish you and Sable all the best."

`Uso yo…Chichiri…uso yo…' Chichiri shook his head desperately again and continued his way back.

Kamui gave no reply and watched Chichiri disappear around the corner.

`What kind of man gives away the woman he so evidently loves?' Kamui mused.

`One who thinks that he is unworthy of that love?'

`One who thinks that his beloved should deserve much better than the likes of himself?'

`Or a combination of both?'

`Is Chichiri really that selfless?'

`Does love compel one to do such a selfless act for one's beloved?'

`Would I be able to do that?'

`I do not know.' Kamui answered his own question with his usual brutal honesty. `I have never loved before, have never been pushed to that limit before.'

Blue eyes darkened with fierce conviction.

`But what I do know is that I'd do anything, ANYTHING, to ensure Sable's happiness.'

Kamui was surprised by his own promise.

`Is this love then? This fierce desire to see her happy? Am I in love?'

The image of an impishly smiling Sable rose in his mind.

And confirmed all his suspicions.

Kamui allowed a secret smile to fleet past his lips as he lowered his head in thought.

`I never expected to be in love with her. I know that I was attracted to her from the start but I never planned to feel anything more for her.'

`Love and hate, opposites of the same coin…to love means to open yourself to hurt…am I willing to do so?'

Kamui was shocked when he realized that the answer was positive.

He WAS willing to risk it all.

`Because I know that she would never hurt me purposely. She has such a pure personality…she does not care for material goods, is not jealous of her friends, choosing to be happy for them instead…'

`All the reasons that I love her…are all the reasons that Chichiri does too.'

Kamui looked up at the stars that were being partly shielded by the gently swaying trees.

And smiled.

`Chichiri, I finally understood why you did something as foolish as this…letting go…but you did not fool me…you were only fooling yourself, and unsuccessfully too.'

`There is no doubt in my mind that you will come to your senses one day.'

`And that day will be our day of reckoning.'

##########

Tasuki was slowly awakening to a pleasant sensation of someone stroking his hair. He purred his appreciation and cracked open an eye to see his benefactor.

Kitten was absentmindedly stroking him while looking at a group of entertainers who were dancing in front of the emperor. Tasuki decided to take this chance to observe his koi unnoticed.

`My kirei…' he thought affectionately.

Indeed Kitten was beautiful tonight, but beautiful women, he had seen them all, some even more so that this exquisite blue-haired girl sitting beside him.

`Iie,' Tasuki stared at Kitten's fine features. `Kit is beautiful inside as well as outside too. I think that I really fell in love with her courageous spirit first and foremost, then that delightful body…'

Kitten had known that Tasuki was looking intently at her. For the past ten minutes, in fact. She had felt the slight tensing of his body as he had awoken. She wondered how long he was going to take staring at her. Impatiently, she flicked a glance at him,

"Ne, Tasuki, what are you staring at? Am I so interesting?"

The redhead jumped.

"Nani?!! I wasn't looking at you!! I was just…just…" he stammered miserably.

Kitten smiled.

"Sure you aren't, Tasuki."

Tasuki glared at her but did not get any chance to retaliate as Chichiri entered the room and slipped into his chair.

The redhead turned to look at his friend.

"Where did you go, Chiri?"

Chichiri started.

He had been deep in thoughts.

"Anou…I went for a walk, no da."

Tasuki seemed satisfied with the answer but Kitten shot the blue-haired seishi a strange look. Chichiri immediately averted his eyes.

Suddenly, there was a huge ruckus up front.

The trio looked around them and saw just about everyone rising from their seats.

"What the…" Kitten muttered.

"Rise. The emperor is leaving."

The trio jumped at the voice that came from behind them.

"Dammit, Kamui!!" Tasuki hissed. "Stop that disappearing and appearing act of yours, will ya? You'll give me an apoplexy sooner or later!!"

Kamui did not bother to answer that exaggerated comment. After all, he had gotten them to do exactly what he wanted; standing up, and that was what he cared about.

Everyone bowed with respect as the emperor walked past them.

Kitten eyed the man with curiosity. Unlike his predecessor, this emperor was young, looked a little older than Kamui, and most important of all, he did not reek of lecherous intent like the previous emperor had.

`He does look quite handsome,' the girl thought. `in a regal kind of way.'

The monarch and his entourage were reaching the foursome. Instinctively, Kitten, Chichiri and Tasuki bowed with respect. Kamui merely inclined his head slowly, before lifting them again.

Kitten straightened from the deep bow.

And got the shock of her life.

"Na…nani… heika-sama?" She stammered, looking at the patrician face that was so near her own.

The man did not respond to her query, but turned to Kamui instead.

"Kamui, is this the charming onna whom you told me about? The one you would like to marry?"

Kitten turned bright red and Tasuki started choking.

Kamui's mouth quirked with amusement.

"Iie, heika-sama. This is Kitten. She is not the one I told you about. Besides, I believe that she is already taken. The man behind me who is no doubt sputtering away," Kamui tilted his head in Tasuki's direction. "is her koi. I apologize for not showing Sable to you, sire. She is unaccustomed to palace dinners like this and had been tuckered out by all the activities. Maybe next time, heika-sama."

The ruler of Kutou nodded his head with acceptance of the answer. However, the man did not proceed on. He looked at Kitten again.

"Such a pity that you already have a koibito." The man smiled and looked at his chief advisor. "Ah, Kamui, you seem to have the most exotic and prettiest of flowers at your disposal all the time."

"You jest, sire."

The emperor merely smiled again before moving on with his guards.

When the man finally left the room, everyone resumed their seats and most continued the chitchatting and merry making.

The foursome remained standing.

Kitten stretched and smothered a yawn rather unsuccessfully.

"Guess that we can finally take our leave now." The blue-haired girl looked to the blonde for some sign of agreement.

Kamui nodded.

"Wait at the courtyard where the four of you alighted earlier for me. I will go and fetch Sable."

The man disappeared before anyone could protest.

"Blondie should really stop disappearing and appearing so suddenly. It's creeping me out." Tasuki muttered.

Kitten rolled her eyes.

"Honestly, Tasuki. Do you expect Kamui to inform you about every movement he makes? Kamui wouldn't be Kamui if he wasn't that odd."

Chichiri sweatdropped. He is quite sure that that was not meant as a compliment.

"Anou…come on, no da. He said to wait at the courtyard, ne? Let's go, no da!"

Tasuki looked at the blue-haired seishi with something akin to disappointment and muttered something about how placid the man was being when he should be all worked up by the fact that another man is walking up the girl he supposedly likes.

Of course, that earned him a whack from the staff, courtesy of Kitten.

Grumbling, the redhead stalked and sulked all the way to the courtyard.

##########

Sable was lost in a sea of dreams.

**********

Sable was in a forest glade, where there is a tiny stream at her right. The brunette was enjoying the scenery and relative peace of the place when she saw Chichiri.

The blue-haired seishi was on the other side of the stream.

Excited, Sable was about to call out to him when suddenly, a pretty and petite girl appeared and threw herself at Chichiri. To her surprise and hurt, the man did not push the girl away. Instead, Chichiri gathered her even closer to his body and buried his face in her hair.

Sable had never experienced such gut-wrenching pain. After what seemed like an eternity, the Chichiri in her dreams tilted his head slightly and started when he saw her.

Sable felt like an outsider, a voyeur. She trembled with the effort to hold back her tears.

"Don't you have any feelings for me at all?"

The words came out before she could stop them.

**********

"Don't you have any feelings for me at all?"

Kamui's eyes widened.

Carefully, he looked at Sable. The girl was whimpering and talking in her sleep.

`What is she dreaming about?'

Curious, Kamui sat beside the sleeping girl, closed his eyes, and concentrated.

He connected his mind with the brunette's.

**********

Sable watched with faltering hope as he battled within himself. The decision came awhile later, when the mysterious girl hugged him tighter and whispered some words to Chichiri.

The faltering hope that Sable had at first died a painful death when she saw Chichiri make up his mind.

`Gomen nasai, Sable. Kouran is my love, always has been and always will be…'

She watched with anguish as he kissed the girl.

Her heart shattered, just like it had in real life.

Sable could not stop it.

The tears.

They trickled slowly at first, then refused to stop.

She had taken a bet.

And lost.

She could not take it anymore. It was too painful.

Turning, she fled into the forest.

Sable ran blindly.

Suddenly, there were arrows all over the place.

They were all directed at her.

She could not dodge them all.

Some of the arrows hit their targets with excruciating accuracy.

Sable could not control her screams of pain and agony.

`Doushite?!! Where did all these weapons came from?'

The answers came.

`The wounds that these arrows make are the physical representation of your internal hurt, Sable. This is what your hurt feels like.'

The brunette closed her eyes.

`Sou ka…so my pain feels like this…excruciating…'

Without warning, a fresh barrage of arrows shot towards her.

Sable opened her eyes.

After knowing the source of the arrows, she did not attempt to dodge them anymore.

To try to avoid them would be like trying to deny the hurt that Chichiri had done to her.

She braced herself for the pain that was sure to come.

They never did.

Surprised, Sable looked up.

And saw…

"Kamui?" the girl rasped hoarsely. "What…what are you doing here?"

The blonde was in front of her, shielding her from the arrows by deflecting them away with his sword.

Not once did an arrow get past him.

Sable looked on as he wielded the weapon with impressive skill.

`Kamui…he is always protecting me no matter what…'

Finally, it was all over.

Turning, Kamui looked at Sable and extended a hand towards her. For once, the brunette took it without any hesitation. She had finally realized that he would never hurt her, and thus, she trusted him.

Kamui pulled her up beside him.

"Doushite? Why are you here, Kamui?"

The man lowered his head and touched his forehead with hers.

His next few words were so soft that Sable had to strain hard to hear them.

"Because I cannot bear to see you hurt. Always remember that I will protect you no matter what happens, my hime."

**********

"Because I cannot bear to see you hurt. Always remember that I will protect you no matter what happens, my hime."

Sable's eyes shot open. She flailed wildly when she saw Kamui's patrician face looming above her.

"Did I just hear you say those words, Kamui?"

Kamui looked down arrogantly at her.

"What words, my hime?"

Sable stiffened.

Princess. He had called her princess in the dream too. So, he had really said those words.

"Anou…what do you mean?"

Kamui looked straight ahead when he answered.

"I meant exactly what I had said. I cannot bear to see you hurt, so I will always protect you no matter what happens." Silver-blue eyes looked down at her with determination. "This promise, I'd keep even if it costs me my life."

The man had just pledged himself to protect her.

Sable did not know how to answer. She felt herself flushing furiously.

`He really means that,' Sable thought. `He'd protect me always.'

Sable decided that her position on the bed was a little uncomfortable and thus, she decided to shift a little.

"Stop moving, Sable, or I will be forced to drop you."

Sable froze.

It suddenly occurred to her she was moving. Horizontally.

Cautiously, she looked down and saw five feet of thin air below her. Squeaking, she held on to Kamui for dear life.

"Kamui? Why are you carrying me?"

The blonde's lips quirked with amusement.

"The dinner had ended. The others are waiting by the carriage. And since you were sleeping so soundly, Sable. I did not want to wake you up. You needed your rest."

"Sou ka. Anou…" Sable tried. "I am awake now. You can put me down."

"Iie, we are reaching the carriage."

"Demo," The brunette protested. "I am sure that I am very heavy for you. Please, I can walk."

Kamui looked at Sable then.

"You are not heavy enough to suit me, hime. You are eating too little."

Sable shut up immediately. She knew from experience that if she continued to pursue the topic, Kamui would make her eat lots of stuff tomorrow. Meekly, she allowed the blonde to carry her all the way to the carriage.

Soon, the pair reached the courtyard.

It turned out that their group was not the only ones leaving the dinner. There were several other guests who were preparing for departure.

However, at their appearance, everyone stopped to stare.

Sable did not understand what all the attention was about. Everyone was looking at the two of them; the men with amusement, the women with outright jealousy.

Kamui ignored them all though, and focused his attention on making his way towards their group.

Tasuki was looking at them with open-mouth horror and Kitten was looking surprised. Chichiri, on the hand, had escaped into the confines of the carriage.

"Anou…Sable, daijoubu ka?"

The brunette was not surprised by the question. She glared at Kamui, who pretended not to notice. He set her down in the carriage instead.

"Hai, daijoubu." The girl answered her friend when she was settled comfortably. "Kamui thought that I needed my rest and thus did not awake me. He carried me here instead."

Kitten nodded and Tasuki gave a comical sigh of relief.

"Sou ka," the redhead said. "You had me a little worried there, Sable. I am willing to bet that everyone in the courtyard is probably wondering what you and Blondie were doing before you came here."

"Na…NANI!!" Sable stammered. "What do you mean?"

Kitten shook her head and tried unsuccessfully to hide a mischievous smile.

"Sab, my dear firend, you are so dense sometimes. Kamui CARRIED you in here, wedding style. What do you think people will thinking?"

Sable wanted to die there and then.

"Shimatta…"

Kamui merely smiled.

Kitten caught his satisfied smile.

"Oi, Kamui." The blue-haired girl was beginning to have an inkling of what is going on. "You knew that people would talk, ne? You knew that this would happen."

Sable stared wildly at the blonde as he nodded.

Tasuki snorted.

"No kidding."

"Hai."

"Then why did you still carried me in?!!" The brunette wailed.

Kamui closed in on Sable. He looked intently at her.

"Don't you know why?"

Mute, the girl shook her head.

"He is putting his claim on you. He wants everybody to know that you are his and his alone." A voice came from within the carriage. "In a way, he is protecting you with his power. No one would dare to touch Kamui's koi, no da."

Kamui smirked.

"Hai. As I said before, you are very perceptive, Chichiri. You are correct." He looked at Sable again. "I'd do anything to protect you, hime."

Tasuki's eyes widened with shock.

"NANI?!! HIME?!!"

Heheh…chapter 21 end. Gomen, people, for making you all wait so long…^^ As for the `hime' thingy, I have watched too much Flame Of Recca!! *Bashes head with remote controller* Well, can't really blame me, FoR is a very nice anime!! Go watch it, minna-san!! ^^ I like Joker and Kurei and Mikagami and Raiha and Fuuko!! ^^

Also, I'd like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Nuriko no Mikos, who even though was sick, still helped me to beta-edit this chapter. Thanks a lot!! *glomps her*

Lastly, to all readers!! Please, PLEASE, help me review this chapter!! Onegai?!! Arrigato gozaimasu!! ^^