Fushigi Yuugi Fan Fiction ❯ The Girl Who Didn't Believe ❯ The Elementals ( Chapter 25 )

The Girl Who Didn't Believe

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 25-The Elementals

Kitten and Sable were at a stall that was selling medallions. They were admiring the many different designs of the many different types of medallions.

"Ne, Sab, there are so many medallions here. Which one do you think that Tasuki would like?"

Sable smiled.

"I am sure that he'd like anything that you buy."

Kitten grinned evilly.

"Hell, you are right. He knows what will happen if he dislikes my gift."

The brunette sweatdropped. She had not meant it THAT way.

"Anou…Kit, so which do you think is good?"

"Uhh…" Kitten looked through the selections before picking one up. "What about this one?"

Sable looked at it, and understood why it attracted Kitten's attention so. The center of the medallion was a large jeweled stone the exact color of Tasuki's eyes.

"Amber…" Sable murmured as she touched the stone. The glass beads that made up the rest of the medallion was darkly colored in hues of navy blue, maroon, and black, complementing the radiance of the amber stone.

"It is perfect, Kit, but I don't think that you need me to say it."

The blue-haired girl grinned and the girls haggled over the price with the stall owner before purchasing the medallion.

Sable stood by while Kitten tucked the wrapped jewelry into the pocket of her jeans.

"Where to now?" Kitten asked.

Sable shrugged and was about to suggest on going to look for the men when there was a huge gust of wind.

"What the…" Kitten muttered as she shielded her eyes.

Sable followed suit. Where did this sudden wind come from?

Without warning, the wind disappeared as suddenly as it appeared.

Kitten opened her eyes and looked up.

Just in time to see a body falling on top of her.

The girl did not have anytime to dodge and oomphed as the weight of the body bore down on her, forcing her to hit the floor with a painful thud.

"Kit!!" She vaguely heard Sable's cry.

After the initial shock of the sudden fall wore off, Kitten looked up to see who the bloody hell was the person who had chose her as a landing pad.

"Get off me," She muttered just as she looked into the person's eyes.

Irate violet eyes met dreamy ones of the same shade.

The two of them gaped at each other.

The guy obviously just realized that he was lying on top of a girl, and immediately, he rolled off Kitten.

"Gomen nasai, daijoubu ka?" The man stood up and offered a hand towards Kitten.

Kitten merely brushed off the hand and got up herself.

She glared at the man, who not only dared to have eyes the same color as hers, but also her blue hair.

"What do you think?" She demanded. "Do you think that I feel alright after someone just landed on me like that?"

The man looked apologetic.

"Gomen nasai, I did not mean to."

Kitten snorted.

"Wakatta. If I thought that it was on purpose, I would have sent you flying back to where you came from." She brushed dust away from her clothes. "Let's go, Sable."

To her surprise, there was no reply.

"Sable?" she turned to see what happened to her friend, and gasped.

In the blink of an eye, Kitten was in defensive mode.

"What the fuck are you two morons doing?" Kitten snarled.

A silver-haired man and an auburn-haired man were restraining Sable. Her mouth was covered by the auburn-haired one and she was looking perfectly miserable. The guards who were supposed to protect them were sprawled on the floor, seemingly unconscious.

From the corner of her eyes, she saw the lapis lazuli-haired man join the duo.

"You are with the two morons?!!" Kitten growled. "I should have expected that." However, in her mind, she was thinking furiously.

`Shimatta. I am severely outnumbered. And they must be very skilled too, to take out Kamui's best guards so quickly. What should I do?'

Suddenly, it struck her.

Praying hard, she concentrated,

##########

//Tasuki!! Tasuki, are you there?!!//

The said redhead stopped walking and looked around. He swore that he just heard Kitten's voice. However, there was no familiar blue-haired girl in sight.

"What's wrong, no da?" Chichiri asked.

Tasuki shrugged.

"I thought that I just heard Kitten calling me."

Kamui smirked.

"You miss your koi already, ne? Must be your head talking."

Tasuki nodded. It made sense.

The trio was about to resume walking when the redhead stiffened.

"Matte!! Talking in my head?!!" They looked at each other. "The onna must be in trouble!!"

Kamui looked serious now, all traces of amusement gone.

"Communicate with Kitten again, Tasuki."

The seishi nodded.

//Kit!! Where are you? What is going on?//

He waited awhile, and her reply came back to him.

// There are three men, Tas, and they attacked us for no reason whatsoever. The guards were defeated in three minutes flat and they got Sable. For some reason, they want to capture me too. I am buying time by evading them.//

Tasuki felt slightly panicked.

//Kit,// he yelled. //Kit!! Run now and don't care about Sable first!! We'll find her. Don't let them catch you and tell us where you are!!//

The reply took longer than before and Tasuki was getting worried. He was afraid that Kitten was captured.

//I don't know where we are!! I will try to morph into a huge bird now. Look out for me.//

Tasuki nodded and told Chichiri and Kamui about the situation. The trio, with their backs against each other watched the sky grimly.

"There, no da!! I saw Kit. Let's go!!"

Tasuki turned to look at the direction that Chichiri was pointing at even as he took off running. He never took his eyes off the ridiculously colorful bird that Kitten had changed into.

`Please, Kit.' He prayed. `Please wait for me, hold on until…'

His thoughts trailed off and he watched with horror as a huge blast of fire in the shape of a dragon erupted into the sky and devoured the colored bird.

`Iie…' He thought numbly, his disbelief lending him even more speed.

//IIE!! KIT, ARE YOU THERE!! WAIT FOR ME, KIT!! YOU HEAR, ONNA?!! WAIT FOR ME, I AM COMING!!//

##########

//IIE!! KIT, ARE YOU THERE!! WAIT FOR ME, KIT!! YOU HEAR, ONNA?!! WAIT FOR ME, I AM COMING!!//

Kitten was dazed. She heard the desperate plea that Tasuki had yelled into her mind but somehow, she could not even summon the strength to reply back.

The shock of being swallowed by the burst of fire had changed her back into her human form and she felt herself, naked, hurtling fast towards the ground.

Desperate, she tried to change back into a bird but her energy was too depleted.

In that very moment, she knew that she was going to die.

Unexpectedly, she saw flashes of her life. Her time in this universe, Sable, the friends that she had made here and lastly…Tasuki.

She realized that she did not regret coming here after all. The Universe of the Four Gods had given her the love of her life after all. Too bad that she could not spend more time with him.

Tasuki.

`I cannot wait…Gomen nasai, Tasuki…my anata.'

Closing her eyes, she resigned herself for the deadly impact when she fell…

Into a body of water.

`Nani?'

Kitten's eyes shot open.

##########

// I cannot wait…Gomen nasai, Tasuki…my anata.// Tasuki heard the words as clearly as the warning bells that were ringing in his head.

//Iie…IIE, KITTEN!! You must wait for me!! I won't be able to bear it if you don't!!//

There was no answer.

Tasuki did not understand why, but his eyesight was getting blurry. It took him a moment to realize that he had been crying.

`Iie,' he thought belatedly. `I do not cry. This is all not real. Kitten must be playing a joke on me. I will find her and she'll be there laughing at my gullibility. I do not cry. I must find her.'

He swiped furiously at the unmanly tears. It did not take long for his eyesight to get blurry again.

`Demo…if it is not real…then why don't the tears stop?'

Chichiri looked at Tasuki, and was shocked to see his friend weeping openly.

He and Kamui had both witnessed the fire engulf Kitten.

For now, there was nothing that he could do to comfort his friend.

He could only pray that the girls would be all right.

##########

Sable watched with terror as Kitten plummet towards the ground. She had never felt so helpless in her whole life. There was nothing she could do. She would have to stand one side and watch as her best friend fell to her death.

`Kitten…'

##########

Kitten's eyes shot open.

`Am I dead already?'

She looked down to see herself entwined in…water.

`Demo…how can water behave this way?'

She followed the coiled body of water and traced it back to…the violet-eyed man.

She started in surprise when she saw that the water was coming out from his hands.

The man smiled softly at her.

"I am glad that you are all right," he said simply.

Kitten glared at him instead.

"What do you three want?"

Kitten shot a look to her left, where Sable was weeping with a relieved look on her face. She was still being held by the two men. Kitten recognized the auburn-haired one as the one who had sent the fiery beast after her.

The man smiled again and shook his head.

"Gomen ne, I cannot tell you. Please rest now."

"Nani?!! Rest?! What do you mea…"

Kitten felt pain explode at the back of her head before fading into blissful oblivion.

##########

Tasuki, Chichiri and Kamui skidded around the corner and almost smacked headfirst into the three men.

With a glance, the newly arrived men took in everything.

Sable was still being held by the two men while Kitten was unconscious. The blue-haired girl was held six feet in the air in an upright position by a body of water and it covered her chest and waist barely, leaving her shoulders, midriff, thighs and below bare.

Tasuki snarled. The only thing that kept him from going insane with rage now was the reassuring rise and fall of Kitten's chest, which indicated her breathing.

"Who are you?"

That was asked by Kamui.

The auburn-haired man smirked. It amused him to see the redhead's anger.

"I am Akai. The one beside me is Haiiro. The man holding on to the naked onna is Aoi."

"I don't give a fucking damn about your colorful names!!" Tasuki said menacingly. "What I want to know is who the bloody hell are you three and why are you here to cause trouble?"

Haiiro spoke.

"In case you have not realized yet, the three of us are celestials beings. We control the elements. I control Kaze. Akai controls Hi. Lastly, Aoi controls Mizu."

Kamui nodded. It made sense. Their names coincided with their powers. But what were they here for?

Haiiro continued.

"We are sent here by Seiryu."

Chichiri could not believe his ears. The dragon god actually sent in celestial beings for their challenge?

"You are our challenge." Tasuki said emotionlessly.

The trio nodded.

"Demo you do not have to fight, Kamui." Aoi said quietly.

Kamui raised an eyebrow. "What? Three against two? That is a little too unfair, isn't it? I will even up the odds."

Haiiro shrugged.

"It is your choice, Kamui."

"Fine. Then please let the girls go first." Kamui said quietly.

Akai shook his head.

"Iie. We caught them fair and square. Defeat us if you want them back."

Tasuki hissed out swear words rapidly.

"So," Haiiro asked. "Who is to fight who?"

Tasuki started forward.

"You control Hi right?" He snarled savagely at Akai. "You were the one who sent the fire dragon after Kitten. I'll fight you."

Akai shrugged.

"Fine by me. As long as I get to fight, I am happy." He shot a predatory grin at Tasuki. "Don't disappoint me, Suzaku shichi seishi Tasuki."

"Next is my turn to choose." Haiiro said.

He looked Kamui straight in the eye.

"You and I."

The blonde nodded and stepped up beside the silver-haired man.

Aoi and Chichiri stared at each other.

"I guess that we have no choice, no da."

Aoi nodded.

"Then it is settled." Haiiro said, swinging his long silverish hair backwards. "We will meet you at the forest five kilometers north of the capital. It is very isolated there and no outsider would be involved. We'd see you there tomorrow morning."

"What do you mean by that?" Tasuki asked. "We are not fighting now? What about Kitten and Sable?"

"We will take them with us." Aoi said. "Rest assured that we won't do anything ungentlemanly to them. They are just lures to make sure that the three of you keep your promise and meet us as stated."

Tasuki was about to say something more when Chichiri stopped him with a hand.

"We'll be there, no da."

The three elemental masters nodded with satisfaction and Haiiro conjured a miniature tornado to carry the five of them away.

Tasuki, Kamui and Chichiri watched them disappear from sight.

"Let's go back," Kamui said at last. "We have a battle to win tomorrow. Let's prepare for it."

##########

Sable watched quietly as the three men went about setting camp in a cave. Kitten was still unconscious, slumped beside her. Aoi had thoughtfully covered her in a large cloth. The two of them were bound up tightly, though.

Sable took the chance to observe the men unnoticed.

Aoi was…cooking. A simple ribbon restrained his lapis lazuli hair that reached slightly below mid-back. His demeanor told Sable that he was concentrating hard on the task at hand, but his faraway eyes told another different story. It was obvious to the brunette that Aoi was the dreamer of the group, no doubt also the one who was always bullied into doing superfluous tasks. Like the water he controlled, he was gentle as a placid, flowing stream. He was thoughtful, the gentleman. So far, she had never seen him lose his temper before. However, she was sure that if Aoi was riled, his temper would be fiercer than Akai and Haiiro's combined.

Haiiro was outside the cave and using a sword, he was cutting the undergrowths and bushes that were too near the cave. He was making a small clearing in front of the cavern. His expression was unreadable, his metallic gray eyes carefully blank. This was a man who seldom showed his emotions to others, that was pretty obvious to Sable. He was somewhat between Aoi and Akai in temperament. Not so quick to rile as Akai, bit also not as mild-mannered as Aoi. Sable had a distinct feeling that when he was furious, people would not know it until he chose to reveal it to them. A dark horse. He must also be very vain too, as his silverish hair was even longer than Aoi's. In fact, it reached well past his thighs. The beautiful mane was obviously well taken care of, as it waterfalled down his back perfectly. Sable was sure that his hair was even softer than hers.

Lastly, there was Akai. He was not doing much in particular, just stomping around, gathering firewood. Of the three elementals, he was most probably the one with the shortest temper and patience. He had short, spiky, auburn hair; no doubt that he was too impatient to spend too much time on grooming his hair. Akai kind of reminded Sable of Tasuki, which is why she was not very sure if the two of them should fight each other. It was like waiting for a bomb to explode. Surprisingly, Akai had bright green eyes, the exact hue as hers. She had seen it when he was restraining her earlier at the streets of Kutou.

The three celestial beings were almost equally tall, in fact, they were around Tasuki's height. They were also rather good-looking…

Sable felt movement. Immediately, she broke out of her thoughts.

"Kit," she whispered. "Daijoubu ka?"

She got a groan in reply.

"Where are we?" Kitten asked as she cracked open an eye.

Quickly, Sable filled her in on what had happened after Aoi had made her unconscious. By the end of her recount, Kitten was fully awake and getting as mad as the devil.

Aoi looked at them then, and he smiled apologetically at them.

"I see that you are awake, Kitten-san," he said placidly. "I apologize for making you unconscious earlier. Gomen ne?"

Kitten mumbled something about how no good ever comes to her every time he is in her presence.

Nighttime came quickly and with it, dinner.

"Release me!! I refuse to be spoon-fed like a baby!!" Kitten growled as she struggled delicately against her bonds. Delicately because of her precarious state of dress.

Aoi looked slightly distressed. He had promised Tasuki that he'd take care of the girls after all. Where Sable was docilely accepting food from Haiiro (she was intimidated by the emotionless wind elemental), Kitten was protesting something fierce.

"Dammit Aoi, if the baka onna doesn't want to eat, then don't feed her!!" Akai growled. He was sitting some distance away from the four and looking frustrated by all the commotion.

"He is right." Haiiro said as he directed chopsticks full of food at Sable's mouth. He was surprised when the brunette shook her head.

"Iie, I am full. Arrigato."

Haiiro shrugged and put down the bowl. He took up another bowl, scooped up some food from the pot that Aoi had used to cook, and started eating.

Aoi sighed. He put down the food that Kitten was supposed to eat by her side.

"Tell me when you are hungry." He said before joining the other two elementals.

Kitten said nothing. She felt entirely miserable. She wanted Tasuki.

Where was he, anyway?

##########

Dinner at Kamui's mansion was a solemn one. The meal was very nutritious and energy giving. Kamui had ordered them to be prepared for tomorrow's fight. They would need all the energy that they could get in order to defeat the celestial beings.

Tasuki did not have any appetite at all. However, he forced himself to eat. He could not afford to lose tomorrow.

//Where are you, Tasuki? Are you at Kamui's home?// The redhead dropped his chopsticks.

//Kit?// He asked disbelievingly. Chichiri and Kamui looked at him with odd expressions on their faces.

//Of course it is me, who else do you think it is? Baka.// Tasuki grinned. Never had he felt so glad to be insulted.

"Is Kitten communicating with you through telepathy?" Kamui asked.

Tasuki nodded, and Chichiri and Kamui continued eating. There was no stopping Tasuki once he got to talk to Kitten, and the two knew it. Tasuki picked up his chopsticks and ate. At the same time he communicated with Kitten. Occasionally, he would tell Kamui and Chichiri what Kitten said that he felt that they should know.

//Kit, you must eat. At least for tomorrow.//

Kitten had told him everything that had happened after Haiiro took them away. Tasuki was very relieved. From what he had heard, Aoi had kept his promise. If the blue-haired elemental was there, Tasuki would have hugged him for taking good care of Kitten, enemy or not.

Time passed quickly for Tasuki, and the meal was over very soon. The trio separated to retreat to their own rooms to rest.

//Tasuki?//

//Yea?//

//Do you have my clothes? The one that I was wearing this morning?//

//Yeah.//

//Look into the jeans pockets, will you?//

Tasuki went onto Kitten's room; he had placed her clothing there. He took up the jeans and dug through the pockets. He came out with a small paper wrapped packet.

//There is a packet inside.//

//Yes.// he could practically see Kitten's smile. //Open it. It is for you.//

Awkwardly, the redhead tore open the paper with jerky movements. He saw the medallion, and was touched.

//Kirei, ne? Just like your eyes.//

Tasuki smiled.

//Hai, Kit. Arrigato. I will get you something when I get you back.//

//Iie, it is alright. You do not have to get me anything. Just wear this tomorrow for me to see and I will be very happy.//

Her faith in him was astounding. Tasuki felt himself getting slightly teary even as he put on the medallion. Thank Suzaku that Kitten was not here. She would tease him so.

Tasuki was about to walk back to his room when he changed his mind. He sat back on Kitten's bed.

//I know what you are doing!!// Kitten's voice was teasing. //Ne, Tasuki, everything will be alright. I believe in you. Stop getting all weepy and stuff. You are a bandit, you know?//

Tasuki grinned.

//Nani? What makes you think that I am crying? I am not an onna, you know? By the way,// he added slyly. //Just wanna let you know that I have decided to sleep on your bed tonight. Now that is something you can think about tonight.//

He could practically imagine her boiling away, and he burst into laughter.

//Ok,//Kitten said placidly, and Tasuki sobered instantly.

Uh-oh, the woman must be up to something.

//You can sleep on my bed,// her voice turned sweet. //But I also wanna tell you something; I am sleeping naked tonight, so sweet dreams.//

Tasuki felt himself turning red.

//NANI!!// he exploded. He just remembered that Kitten was all but naked when they had brought her away. //You are naked? What about the three elementals?// He felt like strangling Aoi now.

Kitten laughed.

//Aoi was kind enough to give me a blanket…// Kitten laughed harder. //Gotcha!!//

Tasuki grumbled, but his heart was light.

//It is late.// he said reluctantly.

Kitten sighed.

//Hai.//

//Oyasumi, kirei…//

Kitten smiled softly.

//Hai, oyasumi…anata.//

##########

With that sappy grin still pasted to her face, Kitten opened her eyes to see four pairs of eyes looking at her.

"Nani?" She asked defensively.

Sable shook her head. She had a vague idea who Kitten was talking to. Only one person could make the blue-haired girl smile like that. She just wished that Kitten would not be so obvious about it. She did not think that three elementals would be very happy if they knew that the girls could communicate telepathically.

The three men continued looking at Kitten queerly. Kitten, on the other hand, smiled cheerfully back at them.

"You are right, Aoi. I am hungry now. Can you feed me? Arrigato," she asked.

Aoi nodded and proceeded to do just that.

Akai wondered what had changed the girl's demeanor so quickly.

Haiiro had a vague idea what had happened but since there was no harm done, he decided to let it pass. It is not as if he could do anything to stop it.

Kitten ate quickly and finished an entire bowl of food, much to Aoi's relief.

After that, everyone settled down for the night. The three men were asleep within minutes but the girls had more problems sleeping.

Firstly, they were being tied up. It was very uncomfortable to sleep in that position.

Secondly, the implication of what was to come the next morning had sunk in deeply. The girls were worried, to say the least. There was a lot of `what ifs' floating about in their minds. Each was lost in her own thoughts, and they did not communicate their worries to each other.

It was a long time before either girl fell into slumber.

Eheheh…So as for whom Aoi, Akai and Haiiro are…You are correct!! They are sent by Seiryu!!! ^^ Elemental celestial guardians, ne? I hope that the powers that those three controls do not sound too clichéd…*Sighs dreamily* You know what, fellas? I think that I am falling in love with my own OCs. Haiiro, Aoi and Akai are just so cool…Damn. Have to snap out of this daze. Maybe you are right, Nuriko no Mikos, we should start a paws_bells' OCs Fanclub. Heheh…

And do you guys really think that I would kill off Kitten? Tasuki would whack me so if I dare touch his Kit. ^^ Added a large dollop of Kit/Tas WAFF too. I figured that I had not written anything mushy about them for quite awhile, so there you go. Hope that readers out there would like that.

Again, a big thank you to Nuriko no Mikos for beta-editing this chapter. Domo arrigato.

Lastly, to all readers, please review this chapter!! Thanks!!