Fushigi Yuugi Fan Fiction ❯ The Girl Who Didn't Believe ❯ Love Will Find A Way ( Chapter 28 )

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 28-Love Will Find A Way

In the realm of the gods…

The four gods stared into the mirror in shock. They had seen the fights.

Genbu and Byakko immediately stared at Suzaku, who was, needless to say, turning rapidly pink. The older gods edged away from their youngest brother.

Seiryu sighed.

"You might as well go ahead and punch me now, brother. The wait is killing me."

The phoenix turned to his dragon brother.

Seiryu was surprised to see tears in Suzaku's eyes.

"Nanda?"

Genbu and Byakko were equally shocked. Gods seldom, if ever, show emotions like grief and sorrow. But then, this was Suzaku, the god who hid in his domain and refused to come out for days whenever one of his seishi died.

"Suzaku…" Seiryu started hesitatingly.

"Brother." The god of Konan interjected before the dragon could say anything more.

"Brother," Suzaku said again, the tears still in his crimson eyes. "Are you so eager to defeat me, then? Is this just another war game to you?" the winged god asked in a sorrowful whisper.

Seiryu was at a loss for words.

A game?

Was what Suzaku said correct?

Had he treated this as a game?

A game that he planned to win no matter what?

Even if it is at the cost of his brother's pain?

"I am sorry."

Seiryu winced at the inane words that had just come out of his mouth. He looked at Suzaku.

The kami gave no reaction whatsoever to Seiryu's apology.

Suzaku merely gathered the last vestiges of his dignity around him like a cloak and wiped away the tears. He stood up regally, and prepared to leave the place.

But before Suzaku disappeared fully, Seiryu heard his reply, and the fact that it came out in an anguished whisper made him feel even guiltier.

"If Tasuki dies, may Taitsukun and Kitten forgive you. For I know that I never will."

##########

"Tasuki is not dead."

"NANI?!!"

Everyone turned to stare at Kamui, who had made that comment.

"Honto ni? Are you sure?" Akai asked hopefully.

Kamui nodded.

"He is alive, but barely so."

"Demo I had felt our connection break. It was almost like when the other Suzaku seishi died."

Everyone was still recovering from Kitten's berserk episode. Chichiri, with the supervision of an anxious Sable, was laying the unconscious girl on the ground. Aoi and Haiiro had gone over to check on the shaken and badly injured Akai.

Kamui was looking at Tasuki, meaning to pay his respects to the fallen hero and also to plan for funeral arrangements. The man did not see it at first; the tell-tale sign of life that Tasuki was giving out. And when he did notice it, it had actually taken the blonde a few minutes to recognize the meaning behind the shallow, barely visible, up-and-down movements of Tasuki's ribcage. It was then that he had made the comment.

Kamui felt the sudden urge to yell at someone, something that was totally uncharacteristic of him. `Mingling with a group of idiots must have made me irrational,' he thought, wondering vaguely why the hell did the elemental guardian not check properly before he started going about telling one and all that the seishi was dead and causing everyone a lot of needless grief.

"No...no one has ever survived my fire before, especially at such close proximity." Akai stammered, wide-eyed.

Kamui realized that he had yelled at Akai after all. Mentally smacking his palm against his head, he turned around, knelt down, and started accessing the damage that had been inflicted on Tasuki.

"We have to give him medical aid immediately. He is not going to last long here, especially when the wet weather is slowly robbing him of whatever body heat that he has left." The blonde turned to Chichiri, Aoi, Akai and Haiiro. "I don't think that either of you can use your powers, can you?"

The four shook their heads wearily.

Kamui started to berate himself silently for not bringing any physician or medical aid along.

"What about me? Maybe I can help."

The blonde started at the voice. Sable was beside him, her face determined.

"Hai, Kamui, let her do it, no da. That's what her powers are for, anyway, no da."

"You mean that Sable is a healer?" Aoi asked in curiosity.

Chichiri nodded.

"I think I recognized that golden light. It is a power for healing, no da. That's why it managed to seep through Kitten's grief and force her to return to sanity, no da." The blue-haired seishi looked at Sable with confidence. "You can do it, no da. Just concentrate and follow my instructions, no da."

"Hai." Sable agreed grimly.

"Put your hands over Tasuki's body and access how badly injured he is."

Sable closed her eyes and did what she was told. The rest of the group watched as the golden light appeared from Sable's fingertips again. They enveloped Tasuki's body.

"There are a few broken ribs, a fractured arm, a badly burnt back and a lot of minor cuts and bruises."

"Sou ka." Chichiri said. "Now Sable, this is the hardest part. You have to concentrate very hard now. Think of nothing else except healing. Concentrate on easing the hurt. Can you do it?"

An affirmative nod.

"There you go then, nice and slow." Chichiri whispered hoarsely.

Sable focused her thoughts and energy into healing Tasuki.

At first, nothing happened.

Then the glow surrounding Tasuki flared brightly and the amazed group watched the healing process. Lacerations and bruises mended themselves and faded away. Then the rib bones melded together, and the previously awkwardly positioned arm righted itself. Right after that, the golden light retreated from Tasuki's body first, before disappearing altogether at Sable's fingertips.

Sable opened her eyes. She stared at Tasuki, then Chichiri.

"Have I done it correctly?"

Chichiri and Kamui were all over Tasuki, checking his vitals. At last the two nodded, and the brunette heaved a sigh of relief.

Sable was about to stand up and stretch when she remembered something. Hurriedly, she made her way to Chichiri's side. Supporting the man by his elbows, she inquired, "Daijoubu ka, Chichiri?"

Chichiri was about to assure the brunette when she placed her hands on his stomach wounds. The now-familiar light flared brightly for a few seconds before disappearing again. Chichiri felt the pain and discomfort disappear.

"Domo, Sable."

The girl flushed before moving away to see to Akai.

Chichiri's eye softened as he traced her movements. He turned back to attend to Tasuki after awhile.

The entire episode had lasted not more than a minute, but it had not gone unnoticed.

Silver-blue eyes narrowed with thoughtfulness.

"Kamui?"

The man looked up to see Sable.

"Hai." The blonde said neutrally.

"Anou…are you hurt? Do you need healing?" The brunette blurted out.

Kamui felt his lips quirk.

"Iie, daijoubu. They are not very serious, just scratches here and there. There is no need for you to waste energy."

Sable smiled, then gave an impish grin, totally surprising the man.

"Nanda?"

"Iie, Kamui, I am not trying to be selfless. I just want to use my powers. New toy syndrome."

Kamui understood.

"I see."

"Are you sure that you don't need my help?"

Kamui shook his head.

"Well, in that case, I think that I will go and look at Kit. I am just so glad that everyone is going to be all right."

Kamui watched as Sable ran off to her friend's side.

Without turning his head, he asked, "Sable always sees the bright side of things, no matter how dreary the situation is, doesn't she, Chichiri?"

The seishi stiffened, and Kamui turned to face the man.

"How did you know that I was watching, no da?"

Kamui smirked.

"That is what I would be doing if Sable was mine. Making sure that no one stole her from under me."

Chichiri was about to nod in agreement when his words sunk in.

"Kamui…you mean…" Chichiri tried again. "Are you sure…"

The blonde allowed himself a secret smile before nodding.

"Hai, I am sure."

Chichiri did not know whether to look sorry or to let relief wash over him. He settled on being expressionless instead.

"Naze?"

Kamui sighed softly and looked at the sky. Where it had been gray and dark earlier, sunbeams now peeked out from white, fluffy clouds. The blonde sighed again. He had known that Chichiri would ask that question.

"Isn't it enough that I am giving up?"

Chichiri made no reply to that and Kamui knew that the man was not satisfied by his evading attempts.

The chief advisor quit staring at the sky and switched his attention to Chichiri.

There was a long pause.

"She loves you, and I realized that it is something that I cannot change. It took me awhile to see that," Kamui smiled sadly at Chichiri. "and knowing Sable, she would be distressed if she knows that I am still after her hand in marriage when she loves only you."

"So you are giving up."

A nod.

It was then that Chichiri realized.

"You really love her."

Kamui smiled lopsidedly.

"It's so obvious, huh? You know, Chichiri," the man continued. "when I first saw how you tried so hard to push Sable away, I thought that you were an idiot to do so. But now, it turns out that I am the idiot."

Chichiri knew without doubts that this sacrifice that Kamui made was for both him and Sable, and he was touched.

"I will guard her with my life, Kamui."

Kamui gave no reply, and there was silence for a while.

"I know." He said at last. "I know that you'll protect her." Pinning the seishi with a steely gaze, he continued. "Make sure that she is happy, or I will step in."

Chichiri nodded.

"It is your right." The blue-haired seishi hesitated before continuing. "Thank you, friend."

Kamui shook his head.

"It felt right."

##########

Sable looked down with concern at the sleeping Kitten. The brunette had already healed the wounds of her friend.

`Kit…her grief was so acute that it actually drove away all sense of logic. She will be glad to know that Tasuki is alive.'

The girl used the hem of her shirt sleeve to wipe away dirt stains and perspiration from Kitten's face, and as she did that, she recalled the wild, anguished look that the blue-haired girl had on her face when she had transformed. Sable's fingers trembled at the thought, and she had to clench her teeth to keep from crying. Just then, a hand was placed on her shoulder.

"Daijoubu, Sable. Kitten is going to be alright, just like Tasuki."

The brunette turned to see the elementals standing behind her. Haiiro looked expressionless and Akai looked guilty. Aoi had his hand still on her shoulder and he looked regretful.

Chichiri and Kamui came up then, with the blonde carrying the unconscious Tasuki.

"Let's leave this place, no da. Thanks to you, I have the energy to teleport all of us to Kamui's house, no da." The blue-haired seishi bent down and scooped up Kitten with relative ease. "Come on, Kitten and Tasuki need their rest, no da."

The brunette nodded and she followed the men.

"Anou…" The trio turned back to look at the elementals. "After giving all of you so much trouble, I think that we should go our separate ways now." Aoi said.

Chichiri and Sable looked at Kamui and caught his imperceptible nod.

"Iie, no da." The seishi said, much to the surprise of the Celestial Guardians.

"Hai." Sable interjected. "The three of you are too weak to go anywhere, and we don't blame you for doing what you were ordered to do. So, please follow us to Kamui's house too."

The elementals stared at Kamui, and the blonde shrugged.

"Welcome to Kutou."

##########

Kitten felt herself rising to the surface of consciousness. She had fought it for a long time, but it had prevailed.

The first thing that grief-stricken hazed violet eyes saw was the ceiling.

`Nanda? Where am I? I thought that we were at the forest?' She forced herself to remember the light that Sable had given out and apologizing to everyone before blacking out again.

`I must be back in Kamui's house then. The fight is over already,' The girl turned to her side as tears tracked silently down her cheeks to pool on the pillow.

`And Tasuki is dead.'

More tears fell silently and Kitten felt her shoulders begin to wreck with suppressed sobs.

`Anata…'

Flashes of memories reeled through her mind like a silent movie. Their quarrels, laughter and all their time spent together. All too soon, it ended, coming to the scene where she saw Tasuki's lifeless body…

`Is this my punishment then? For not believing in this world?'

`By taking Tasuki away from me, is this what I deserved?'

`Atashi wa…atashi wa…I did not even get to say goodbye…'

Tears leaked from closed eyes and when they opened again, the violet orbs were dull and lifeless.

`I want to go back to my world…to forget everything here…forget Tasuki…if I go back, then everything will not be real…'

The doors creaked open then, and Kitten stiffened. She feigned sleep as she did not want to see anyone yet.

Sable stepped cautiously into the room. Without even needing to use her powers, she knew without doubt that Kitten was awake.

Sighing softly, she laid the tray of food that she had been carrying on the table and went to sit on the bed.

"Kit, I know that you are awake." She stroked her friend's vibrant blue hair. "Come on, I brought food."

No reply.

"Kit, I can't talk to you if you are acting like this. I want you to sit up and face me."

This time there was a response. The bed-ridden girl turned slowly, as she was suddenly very tired and weary of everything, and looked at Sable.

"Nani?"

The brunette winced inwardly. Dead and direct.

"Kit, listen to me," Sable urged. She had a vague idea that Kitten is going to shut down all her feelings soon, and that gave her a sense of great urgency. "Listen, Tasuki is not dead. Akai made a mistake and thought that Tasuki was dead. He is not dead, Kitten. He was never dead. Do you hear me?"

Sable saw a painful flash of hope in her friend's eyes before it quickly died away. Kitten turned her head away.

"You do not need to lie to me, Sab." Kitten said quietly. "I felt it. The connection between us just disappeared. I know that he is gone, Sab."

Kitten curled into a fetal position. "Tasuki is gone. Please don't try to raise my hopes now only to dash them for me later." The tears leaked out again. "Onegai…"

Sable could not take it. She had never seen Kitten like this before. Her best friend was always cheerful no matter what. Nothing could bring her mood down. But now Kitten was but a skeleton of her past self. A broken soul.

With trembling hands, Sable griped Kitten by her shoulders and hauled the protesting girl up. She gave Kitten a few slight shakes.

"Why I would I lie to you, Kit? Tasuki is not dead!! I healed him myself!!" He is in the room beside your even as we now speak!!"

This time, the hope that flared in amethyst eyes did not fade. Kitten struggled to sit up by herself even as she held on tight to Sable.

"Are you sure, Sab?" The girl asked hoarsely, desperation evident in her tone. "I am so afraid of believing you. If this is not true, I do not know if I can take it…"

Tears blurred Sable's vision.

"Iie," The brunette whispered. "I did not lie to you, my friend. Tasuki is really not dead."

Before Sable could say anything more, the blue-haired girl had clambered to her feet and was stumbling unsteadily towards the door.

"Matte, Kit!!" Sable hurried to the girl's side. "You should eat first before you go see Tasuki."

Kitten looked at Sable.

"I can't. Gomen ne, Sable, I can't." Amethyst eyes stared at forest green ones with determination. "I need to…" Kitten hesitated. "I need to see for myself."

Sable held their stare for awhile before nodding.

"I understand your feelings, Kit. But you must promise to eat after you see Tasuki."

The brunette held open the door and directed her friend to the room that Tasuki was staying in. Kitten limped quickly out of the room, heedless of Sable's calls to be careful. She reached the room in record time and, with bated breath, pushed opened the doors.

##########

Sable watched as the blue-haired girl take in the sight of the sleeping figure of Tasuki lying on a bed just ten feet in front of her. The brunette watched as hesitant hope turned to joy as Kitten saw the reassuring up and down movements of Tasuki's chest.

Not wanting to intrude on the privacy of the couple, but also not willing to leave Kitten alone, Sable opted to stay outside the room and observe quietly.

##########

Kitten walked slowly to the bed, tears of joy evident in her eyes.

`He is alive.'

She reached the bed and sat down by its side. Sable had not lied to her after all; she had healed all of Tasuki's wounds. Someone had also changed his clothes, for the clothes that the redhead was wearing now were clean and pristine. With shaking fingers, Kitten ran a hand through his fiery locks and placed the other on his chest to feel his comforting warmth.

"Tasuki…" There was no reply, and Kitten gave a shaky smile for being foolish.

`Of course he would not hear me, he is still unconscious.'

An idea struck her then, and she decided to try it out. Although she was still weakened, and had to concentrate hard, Kitten decided to give it a try. She closed her eyes and connected her mind to Tasuki's.

And gasped.

##########

Sable heard the gasp and rushed to the bedside.

"Kit, daijoubu ka?!!"

Sable watched frantically as a deathly pale Kitten panted harshly and tears waterfalled down her cheeks. It did not take the brunette long to realize that Kitten was getting hysterical.

//Chichiri!! There is something wrong with Kit!! She is having a panic attack!! We are in Tasuki's room, hayaku!!//

Sable broke the connection immediately, and placing both hands on Kitten's chest, she used her powers once again to calm the girl down.

Sure enough, when the golden light faded away, Kitten was no longer panting that hard and her tears were abating.

"Kit, daijoubu ka?" Sable asked softly. Kitten had not looked at Sable.

"Kit?" Sable sat beside the girl.

"I…I am alright now." Kitten whispered at last.

"What happened just now?"

Kitten did not reply at first, and Sable thought that Kitten had not heard her question. She was about to repeat the question when the girl spoke up.

"I…I tried to awaken Tasuki by connecting our minds…"

"And?" Sable pressed gently. Kitten was still not looking at her.

"And…" Kitten looked up then, and Sable was stunned by the despair she found there. "I cannot find him."

"He is not there."

##########

Chichiri, Kamui Aoi, Akai and Haiiro were in the breakfast room when Chichiri heard Sable's calls for help.

//Chichiri!! There is something wrong with Kit!! She is having a panic attack!! We are in Tasuki's room, hayaku!!//

The seishi was out of his chair and at the door within the second.

"Hayaku!! Kitten is in trouble, no da!! They are in Tasuki's room!!"

He did not have to say anymore, the group of five was off in the direction of Tasuki's room.

In the space of three minutes, they reached the room.

Just in time to hear Kitten say, "And he is not there.", and then, everyone watched as the blue-haired girl collapse against Sable in a dead faint.

Chichiri advanced into the room first, followed closely by the others.

"What happened, no da?"

Sable looked helplessly at Chichiri.

"Kit…Kit said that she tried to connect her mind with Tasuki's to awaken him but…" The girl hesitated.

"But?" Kamui asked.

Sable's face paled suddenly, as the true meaning of Kitten's words sank in.

"But she could not find him." Sable turned her attention back to Chichiri. "Chichiri, can you try to establish a link with Tasuki's mind and confirm what Kitten had said?"

Face grim, the seishi nodded, and he begun to do exactly what Sable had requested. As Chichiri was connecting himself to Tasuki's mind, Aoi and Akai volunteered to help carry Kitten back.

Standing, Sable surrendered Kitten to the two and was about to follow them when a wave of queasiness hit her. Blinking furiously, the brunette shook her head in an attempt to clear her head, but somehow, it only made everything worse.

Before she could do anything more, she felt hands pushing her down and voices commanding her to sit. It took a little while more before the queasiness went away, and when it did, Sable saw Kamui frowning down at her. A quick glance across the room told her that Akai and Aoi were back from putting Kitten back on her bed and that Chichiri was still in deep concentration.

"All the healing that you have done today has made you weak. Your power saps your energy." Haiiro remarked from his corner.

"You should rest." That was from Kamui, and turning, the blonde man summoned a servant to prepare some nutritious porridge for Sable.

Sable wanted very much to protest but she knew that Kamui was right. She had overextended herself today.

Just then, Chichiri snapped out of his meditation.

Looking sadly at everyone, he nodded.

"Kitten was correct; I did a thorough search and cannot find any trace of Tasuki's consciousness within his mind at all."

"That explains why your seishi connection with Tasuki did not make a clean break unlike when the other seishi died."

Chichiri stared at Aoi, who had made that observation.

"What do you mean, no da?"

The Celestial Guardians look at each other uncomfortably before Aoi continued.

"It means that the Tasuki whom you see lying here is nothing but an empty shell."

"He is gone."

I hope that this chapter kinda answers the question of whether Tasuki is dead or alive…Eheheh…Please down kill me…^^ There are also some explanations as to why Chichiri did not feel a clean break in connection with Tasuki and that Sable does not have unlimited healing powers. Also hope that this chapter is not too boring for you guys!!

Thanks to Nuriko no Mikos for beta-editing this chapter.

Thanks to all my reviewers and readers!! Please help me review!! Domo.

So, until the next time, ja ne!!