Fushigi Yuugi Fan Fiction ❯ Yui's Christmas Wish ❯ Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Fushigi Yugi. The original story and characters belong to Yu Watase. Any characters that did not appear in the original story are my own creation.

Rating: G

Notes: The story picks up shortly after the end of my last fanfic, "A Story Retold. If you haven't read "A Story Retold," you can still enjoy this one-shot fic, but make sure you read the info below first. (Warning: contains spoilers from the first story.)

Info to know: Yuiren is Yui's daughter. Like Tamahome, she has two selves, one who was born in the Universe of the Four Gods and one in the real world who has yet to be born. When Yui and Miaka left the book, Yui and her daughter had to be separated. Even though Yui knows she will see Yuiren again, she became very attached to her child while in the book and found it hard to leave her. Now all Yui wants for the holidays is to see her daughter again. Can Miaka make her best friend's dream come true? When you make your wish on a Christmas star, anything is possible.

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Christmas Wishes: Chapter 2
By Katrina Kadabra

"Yuiren..." Yui gasped. She had to dreaming. Either that or her mind was playing a very nasty trick on her. Yui thought of pinching herself just to see if she was awake or not, but somehow she couldn't get her body to move. Meanwhile the little girl standing in the doorway ran up and threw her arms around her astounded mother. Slowly, Yui brought her hands around the child's small body. She was warm, full of energy and life, just as the day Yui had left. This was no dream. Yuiren was here with her again.

"Yuiren," she repeated, this time with a tear in her eye. "Yuiren, you're back! Oh geez, did I ever miss you! I love you so much!"

"I love you too, Mama," Yuiren answered, returning the gesture. "Merry Christmas!" She reached into her pocket and drew forth a small bundle. "I brought you a present," she said. Yui watched with anticipation as Yuiren unveiled a little bag of herbs and dried flowers, tied together with a thin purple ribbon. "It makes the house smell nice," she explained. "Gyokuran taught me how to make it."

"Thank you, Yuiren, it's lovely," Yui replied, taking the gift. "But we need to get you inside, you'll catch a chill out here."

Yui positioned the little girl on her hip and walked into the house with Miaka following behind.

As soon as they were inside, Yui sat Yuiren down on the couch and went rummaging through the closest trying to find some of her old snow clothes for Yuiren to wear.

"So," said Miaka, sitting down next to the little girl, who was busily kicking at the air. "How did you get back here anyway, Yuiren?"

"I brought a letter," Yuiren replied, reaching into her sleeve and holding out a folded paper for the girls to see.

"Really? Let's read it!" Miaka exclaimed, eagerly grabbing the letter before Yui had a chance to react. But the moment Miaka unfolded the piece of paper, a large sweatdrop formed on her head. She sighed and handed the letter over to Yui.

"It's in ancient Chinese again," she muttered. Yui giggled and proceeded to read over the letter. It took her a moment to decipher the words. Maybe she needed to brush up on her Chinese a bit more.

"Well, what's it say?" Miaka asked anxiously.

"It's from Taishukan," Yui replied. "Priestess of Suzaku... I hear you have this Christmas holiday in your world, something about that 'special time of year you spend doing things for the good of others?' Well, since you asked so nicely, I guess I can squeeze your little festive wish into my schedule. Here's how it works: the priestess of Seiryu's daughter has come to your world, but only for one day. At midnight tomorrow night she will return to the world of the book. Enjoy your time together. Taishukan." Yui glanced at the end of the page. "P.S," she added. "If Taka has anything to say about my face, tell him he can jump in a lake."

Miaka sweatdropped as Yui handed the letter to her and turned her attention back towards Yuiren. "Here, try this on," Yui said, holding up a small winter jacket with a picture of a snowflake embroidered on it. "It was my favorite when I was little."

While Yui slipped the coat onto Yuiren, Miaka scanned the letter again as she began pondering over all the possibilities. "This is great!" she said. "Yui, this is your chance to do everything with Yuiren you've wanted to do for Christmas. We can go watch a holiday parade, make hot cocoa, build a snowman, see Santa Claus..."

"Miaka, do you want to exhaust the poor girl before she even gets to tomorrow?" Yui asked. "Sheesh!" She pulled up the zipper on Yuiren's jacket and gently wrapped a scarf over her neck and chin. When she was finished, Yui sat back and looked her daughter over carefully. "I think that'll work just fine," she said.

"Oo peple hav fummy cwoves," Yuiren muttered through the knitting.

"Huh?" Yui asked, pulling the scarf away from Yuiren's mouth.

"I said, you people have funny clothes," Yuiren repeated with a smile.

"Okay, okay," Yui said with a laugh, tucking the scarf in to get a bit of breathing room. "Better?"

"Yeah!"

The three girls walked outside, with Yuiren anxiously hitching a ride on Yui's shoulders. At Miaka's suggestion, they decided to head for the city park. In the center of the park was a small playground, surrounded by benches for parents to watch their children from. It was the perfect place for Yuiren to get to know this world, so Miaka said. From her description, the place sounded magical to Yuiren that when they finally arrived, the girl could barely get down from Yui's shoulders fast enough. The moment her eager little legs hit the ground, she took off running not quite sure which of the many fascinating toys she should try first.

"Don't wander too far," Yui called out, though it was hard to tell if Yuiren actually heard her or not. The little girl was already much too busy making friends with the other children to worry about safety. Yui sighed and sat down on the bench. "She'll be fine," she said aloud. Miaka nodded and sat down next to her friend.

"You know you do look very motherly when you're taking of her," said Miaka.

"I would hope so," Yui answered with a laugh.

"No, Yui, I'm serious," Miaka said. "When you and her are together, it just seems so natural... it's obvious how much you care about each other."

"Oh," Yui replied, not quite sure how to take Miaka's comment. "Well, thank you," she finally said, smiling.

Yuiren immediately ran over to a small group of children already involved in a game of tag. It didn't take long for the little girl to join their group and soon the new friends were laughing and running all over the playground.

Miaka glanced over at her friend. Yui was smiling contently at the scene, ever watchful and filled with pride. Miaka felt herself moved to say something, though she wasn't quite sure what.

"It's funny, isn't it?" Miaka finally asked.

"What is?"

"Just to think how rough Yuiren's life began, and now look at her. She's just like a normal little girl, out there playing and making friends. She's really happy." Yui nodded.

"She's so much stronger than I ever was. She's the one who gave me some reason to live after... after that happened."

"I-I'm sorry," Miaka stuttered out, as she hung her head shamefully. This wasn't the way the conversation was meant to go. "I didn't mean to bring up the past..."

But Yui shook her head. "It's okay, Miaka. I've moved ahead with my life. I know when Yuiren is born in this time, it will be into a family with a father who loves and cares for her. But in the meantime, I'm glad for the privilege I have to call her my daughter."

"Wow..." said Miaka with eye wide as saucers. "You sound so... adult! I didn't know you said such deep things!"

"That's what I get for being a genius," Yui bragged with a playful toss of her hair.

"Hey, what are you two doing here?" called a voice. Miaka and Yui turned around to see Rei and Hikaru, two of their friends from school walking up to them.

"I didn't expect you two workaholics to be out here in the park, of all places," Rei said.

"Well, it was such a nice day, why waste it inside?" Yui asked. Then she remembered. "Oh, there's someone I want you to meet. Yuiren!" Yui called out onto the playground. As long as her daughter had come into this world, Yui was not about to miss an opportunity to show her to everyone. "Yuiren, come here!" The little girl looked up happily from her play and came running up.

"Coming, Mama!" she called out happily.

"Mama?" Rei repeated. The two girls looked at Yui like her head was about to explode, and Yui wouldn't have been surprised if it did. Vanishing from reality for a few days she could explain, but this? Luckily she didn't need to explain it, for as Yuiren ran up and grasped her mother's legs, Rei's face broke into a smile.

"She thinks you're her mother! Oh, that's so cute!"

"Uh... yeah," Yui answered with a nervous nod. It was a decent excuse. And if that's what they wanted to think, let them.

"So how IS she related to you?" Hikaru wanted to know.

"My uh... little cousin?" Yui suggested.

"Adorable!" Hikaru replied. She bent down and patted Yuiren on the head. "So you're name's Yuiren? That's so cute! Where did you get a name like that?"

"My mama gave it to me," Yuiren answered matter-of-factly.

"How precious!" she said, patting the girl on the head again. "Well," she said, turning back to Yui and Miaka. "We need to get going. See you two later!" The two girls waved their good-byes and left. As soon as they were out of sight, Yui breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sheesh, I thought we were in big trouble there," she said. She picked up Yuiren and boosted her onto her shoulders. "Um, Yuiren?" she asked.

"Yes, Mama?"

"It um... it might not be the best idea if you call me mama when you're in this world."

"How come?"

"Because... because well... it's just considered rather unusual for an unmarried sixteen-year-old to have children in this time, that's all."

"Oh," said Yuiren with a look of disappointment buried in her eyes. "What should I call you then?"

"You can call me Yui," her mother suggested. But the little girl only put her arms around Yui's neck and muttered,

"I like Mama more."

"Okay," said Yui smiling. "Mama it is then. I like being called that too."