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(Thanx for allowing me to post it! I'm just trying to prove read it for her....forgive me if I did a bad job^^;)
All characters involved in this fanfic with spoilers are the property of Watase Yuu sensei. Please give Virgo-chan comments on how you feel about it and tell her. For any prove read error, tell me.
Part 1: New Kid, New Life
by Virgo-chan
It was cold, so cold. Yui shivered as she felt something rough brushing against her bare skin. It seemed like frost ran through her blood, freezing her heart. She felt a presence next to her, a silky voice echoed in her mind, invading in her memories and thoughts. The blonde tried to twist away, but felt her will and strength leaving her a weak and empty shell. When she opened her blue eyes, she saw the world pass under her in a whirl.
Buildings and craters smoked, the ground cracked and bridges totally destroyed. Suddenly, something struck her, burning her skin. Her eyes widened in surprise as the attacker came to view. A crimson bird with its long feathers trailing in the air. It squaked at her and thrusted forward with a golden beak. Yui screamed in pain and lashed her hand out, hitting it squarely in the breast.
Her hand... her entire body... covered in hard scales, gleaming frost blue from the fire below. She wanted to run and hide, try to find a way to get the cold armor off her. But that voice spoke to her again, leashing her mind tightly - so calm and soothing.
<...Don't worry...> It hissed to her, driving all her fear away, giving her strength. <...You'll help me survive this attack... With the two of us merged together... We are stronger... We cannot lose now... I protect you... You protect me...>
Yui revealed the strange, familiar feeling. A cocoon, a safe heaven. She never wanted to leave. But something was tugging her away. Something ripped her away from the cool warmth. The voice howled in anger... then stopped... Another voice spoke to it, warm, sharp and high.
<...Seiryuu no Miko... We shall be together again... I will be in need of your help later... But until then, my Miko...> The voice said, before it and the other, faded with a chuckle. All went black.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Yui-chan... Yui-chan!" A voice harshly whispered in her ear.
"Eh...? Na...nani...?" Yui's eyes slowly focused on the person in front of her. "N-nani yo, Taiyo-chan?"
Taiyo snorted at her cousin. "Nothing, Yui-chan. Except that the obaba up there might have seen you sleeping during another lecture." She smiled lightly at Yui, playing with the end of her raven black braid. "And you missed seeing the new student and he is FINE! Uchu-sensei sent him to the office for his books."
Yui giggled. Leave it to Taiyo, as masculine as she was, to think of boys. "Oh really? How does he look?" The other sighed dreamily starring off in to space, carefully keeping her voice low.
"His name is Nozomu Shinji. He has light brown, kinda dirty blonde hair, gorgeous blue eyes and the most heart melting smile I have ever seen!" Her blue eyes connected to Yui's. "Oh man, I am in love!" The two giggled again, trying not to draw attention to themselves.
Another girl poked Taiyo's side. "Here he comes again!" said she. Yui smiled at her cousin's antics, and her cousin looked to the door, practically drooling. But Yui looked to the portal and gasped.
Well, Taiyo was right. Shinji no boushinen indeed. But the thing was, he was supposed to be dead...
"Yui-chan? You look like you've just seen a ghost!" Taiyo said.
"..." Yui worked her jaw. "I'm not sure I haven't..."
This Shinji guy looked, smiled, talked, walked and held himself just like Suboshi had. The same melancholic gleam in his eyes, even when he laughed, the easy smile on his face, and proud air that hung from about him. He looked around the room, his grin widening slightly as a few girls turned from his eyes, their faces flushed. He stopped when he saw Yui, she thought she saw recognition in his eyes, but replaced by confusion.
"Yui-chan? Oi! Yui-chan!" Taiyo waved her hand in front of Yui's face, still not getting a response. "Baka yaro! Answer me!" She poked the stiff girl with the point of her pencil.
"Ittai! Taiyo-chan!"
"Daijoubu, Yui-chan? Nani yo?" Taiyo's eyes were filled with worry.
She just waved off. "I'm fine. He just reminded me of someone I knew. That's all."
The teacher cleared her throat, rapping a ruler sharply on the desk. "Class! Your attention, please!" Everyone quieted down. "As you know, this is our new student, Nozomu Shinji. I want you all to treat him nicely and don't give him a hard time. Is that understood?"
"Hai!" Everyone chorused.
"Good. Nozomu-san, why don't you sit...." The old sensei looked around, the smiled thinly. "Why not next to Hongo-san? She's one of my best students. She can help you with your studies. Daijoubu, Hongo-san?"
Yui stood up, with her knees shaking. "H-hai, Uchu-sensei..."
Shinji bowed to the sensei before moving to his new seat. He smiled to Yui and Taiyo politely. "Arigatou, Hongo-sama."
She smiled weakly. "Yoshi, and please, call me Yui."
"Hai, Yui-sama." He noticed her wince slightly. "Daijoubu, Yui-sama? Do you need to see the nurse?"
Yui turned away. "Iie. It's nothing, honto." Someone cleared their throat by Yui's elbow, startling her. "Ah... Shinji-kun, this is my cousin, Kaze Taiyo."
"Konichiwa, Taiyo-sama."
"Konichiwa, Shinji-kun." She purred, batting her dark lashes. Shinji chuckled slightly and shifted, a bit embarassed.
Yui laughed at her cousin once more, then her smile faded. Scenes flashed in her mind. Events she thought - she wished - she had forgot.
First meeting Suboshi. Holding him as he wept for his brother. Talking to him. Laughing with him. Yelling at him. Smiling at his attention. Then his kiss. Gentle, sweet, lonely. His warmth, his scent. The feel of his arm, encircling her shoulder as she admitted her fear as she got ready to call Seiryuu for the first time. The love in his smile, in his eyes. The way he protected her, cared for her, never left her side. Trying so hard to please her, even when she treated him badly. The way he was ready to jump to her aid, how he fought for her, avenged her, died for her...
Yui wrapped her arms around herself, trying to hold back her tears. Taiyo and Shinji looked at each other in surprise, then at her.
"Oi, Yui-chan! Daijoubu?"
"Ne, nani yo, Yui-sama?" A raspy voice was cleared just above the trio's heads. The sensei looked down at Yui.
"Hongo-san? Are you not feeling well today? Do you need to see the nurse?"
"Iie, sensei. Daijoubu." Yui forced a smile on her face. The teacher looked at her before she turned back to her lecture. Yui whipped the tears from her eyes as Taiyo and Shinji looked at her once more, then went back to scribbling in their notes.
Yui drew in a shaky breath. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Itadakimasu!" Miaka said loudly, shoveling food down her gaping maw. Taka smiled at his inaazuke, imagining his yen flying to bank's heaven. Umiiro just giggled at her friends and sipped her drink quietly.
"Oi! Miaka-chan, slow down and breath every once in a while." Taiyo declared loudly, coming up, her arm linked with Yui's.
"Um-phium!" She mummbled around her food.
"Eh? Nani?"
Umiiro giggled again. "She said 'Ohayo'." The slight whisp of a girl was the only one that could understand Miaka with a full mouth.
Taiyo leaned against a tree and just smiled. "Well, I, unlike you, am not fluent in mummbling."
The four girls were in high school now, they could go anywhere for lunch, on or off campus. But they always hung around a near by food store and sat under the trees in the courtyard mainly because it was right next to the college that Taka, Keisuke and Tetsuya went to. The group began talking and laughing. Soon, Keisuke and Tetsuya joined them, bringing (much to Miaka's delight and Keisuke's wallet pain) more food. Tetsuya noticed that something was wrong with his girlfriend.
"Ne, Yui-chan. Nani yo?"
Taiyo sighed. "She wouldn't say. I asked her, Uchu-sensei asked her, even Shinji-kun asked, but she wouldn't answer us!"
"Matte. Shinji-kun? Who's he?" Tetsuya asked, instinctivly pulling Yui closer to him. Taiyo got into that dreamy state again, babbling on about what a boushinen he is.
"Yui-chan." Miaka prodded. "Honto, nani yo?"
The girl in question looked up, her eyes seemed dull. "Suboshi is alive..." She closed her eyes and buried her head in Tetsuya's side.
Taka sputtered. "Su-Suboshi!?" He couldn't clearly remember what that name meant, but it didn't strike a single good cord in him. It seemed that, with each day, his memories of the 'Shijin Ten Chi Sho' grew more and more faint.
"Yo-yo boy?" Keisuke gasped.
"Oi, wasn't he the one that killed Ta-" Keisuke slapped a hand over his friend's mouth as Yui elbowed him in the side and Miaka stepped on his foot. The other two girls blinked in confusion.
"Ano... Who is Suboshi?" Umiiro asked softly.
"Hai. Is he an old boyfriend of yours, Yui-chan?" questioned Taiyo.
"Actually, I was wondering that myself. You two were awfully close for a while." Miaka added, then was startled when Tetsuya glarred at her.
"Yui...?"
"Iie!" She shouted. "He may have felt that way about me, but I didn't! We kissed once, but he caught me by surprise, okay!?" She quieted. "After a while, he became such a close friend... I thought he was my best friend during... well... you know." She finished weakly, looking at Miaka.
"Daijoubu, Yui-chan." Miaka leaned over and hugged her best friend. "I forgave you all last year, remember?"
"Hai."
Taiyo tapped Yui's shoulder. "So what happened to this Suboshi guy? And what doese this have to do with Shinji-kun?"
"He... He died... protecting me." Tears threatened to squeeze out from between Yui's lashes. "It's just that... that..." She was cut off by Miaka.
"Kami-sama... Is-is that him?" Everyone looked up to see Shinji walking past with a group of jocks.
"Hai.." Yui sniffled lightly. "That's him."
"He looks just like Suboshi did..."
"That's not the worst of it. He acts and even sounds like him, too. And guess what... He sits next to me in class."
Taiyo looked down. "Oi, Yui-chan, gomen ne. I had no idea."
"Hai. I know." A gentle hand was placed on Yui's shoulder. She looked up to see Umiiro, her water brown eyes were sympathetic as she brushed a few strands of feather brown hair out of her face.
"Ganbatte ne, Yui-chan. You can be brave and go through it. And if you need anyone to talk to..."
"She's right, Yui-chan." Tetsuya gently kissed her forehead. "We're all here for you."
"Arigatou, minna."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Four minds stirred in the great void. Fire rustled, wind blew, waves crashed upon each other and the land rumbled. Yet, there was no visible movement, not a physical body. Four symbols suddenly flashed to life in the emptiness, filling it with light and countless millenia of knowledge and patience. Soon, their waiting would be put to an end, and yet another world would be conquered, and brought under their control. Eight eyes smiled, waiting for the chance when their influence would be greater, and their faith restored. Finally... the time to move was near at hand.
And a through the din, one could just barely make out the sound of flipping papers...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Miaka faltered. She leaned heavily against the wall of the gym, a hand clutching at her chest. Her body felt like it was on fire, she was coated in a thick blanket of sweat. Everything was swirling around her, dancing about. Suddenly, fire lept up around her. She screeched, as the dancing flames licked at her, burning her hair and skin, brushing against her sneakers and bare legs. A face appeared before her, beckoning her. A familiar voice, one she long forgot. A symbol glowed on his forehead, his voice was sharp and high, filling her body with warmth. She was caught in his ruby eyes, hypnotized as he reached out with an arm laced with fiery feathers.
<..Suzaku...>she thought.
<...Did I not say...>he paused. <.. that I would come back for your help...?>
<..My.. help?> It hit her. When she called Suzaku, she remembered a voice telling her that she'll be needed once more. But until then...
She could see the man smile at her. Miaka snapped back to reality as the last of the warm voice drifted away from her. "Oi! Is anyone in here?! She could be a bit of help!" She then heard something about weight and how looks are deceiving. She peeked around the corner and saw him. The Suboshi-look, Shinji, was supporting unconscious Yui, and Taiyo on her other side.
"Yui-chan!" She hurried over to her best friend. "Here, put her in this bed." Miaka tucked Yui in the bed she occupied no more then a minute before. "Taiyo-chan, what happened?"
She shook her head. "I don't know. One minute, she was up giving a presentation in history, then she just stopped and stood there for a minute, then she collapsed. Oi, what are you doing down here, anyway?"
Miaka looked sheepish. "Anoooo... I was in P.E. when I just suddenly blacked out. I woke up in here not long before you came in." She then noticed Shinji kneeling by Yui's side, placing a wet cloth folded plaed above her eye brow. "Sumimasen, demo.. can you spare me a minute?" She asked him.
Shinji blinked at her. "Hai." He looked down at Yui once more before he stood up. Miaka thought she saw a faint glimmer of longing in his eyes. She led him out in to the hallway as Taiyo watched over her cousin.
"Nani yo?"
"Namae wa?"
He blinked again. "Ore wa Shinji."
"Ahh..." Miaka was deep in thought. "You wouldn't happen to know me, would you?"
"Iie."
"What about Yui-chan. Do you know her?"
"Well, just from class."
"How 'bout Tamahome? Suboshi? Amiboshi? Seiryuu?" He shook his head at each name. "Nakago?"
He shivered involuntarily. <..Well,> she thought <...at least I'm getting a bit of a response from his Seiryuu side. I just hope he doesn't try to kill Taka-chan again.> She held out her hand. "Miaka desu. I'm a friend of Yui's. I knew her since kindergarten."
"It's a pleasure to meet you." He said. "You wouldn't happen to know what's wrong with her, would you?"
"Iie. I wish I did, though. I don't want her to be sick. Yui-chan's never sick." But Miaka had a distinct feeling that Seiryuu visited her, as Suzaku did to herself. "Gomen ne. I was just wondering because you remind me of someone me and Yui-chan used to know."
Shinji leaned against the wall, jamming his hands in the pockets of his slacks. "Honto? Who?"
Miaka sighed. It always depressed her to remember what happened in the 'Shijin Ten Chi Sho', especially all her friends and enemies and all the deaths.
"We had a couple of friends. They were twins named Amiboshi and Suboshi, who looked just like you. One day, the older of the two, Amiboshi, was missing and was supposed to be dead. Suboshi was heartbroken and then Yui and he became close friends.
"What happened was that an evil man tricked Suboshi into killing the family of his niisan's 'kidnapper'. Amiboshi was found later, alive and well. But Suboshi couldn't face him again, after heartlessly murdering four children and a sick old man. The gang that the guy belonged to wanted to hurt Suboshi in the worst way possible, by attacking the people closest to him. So he took his niisan away and hypnotized him to forget about him. Later, he died protecting Yui-chan from the gang." She sighed, hopping he wouldn't see through her lies.
"He told Yui-chan before that he loved her, and that he never wanted to hurt her, or see her hurt. Even if she yelled at him, or was mean to him, he never once raised his hand to her, and always did what she said. She did love him, but as a brother, not the way that he wanted her to. He was as close a friend to her as I am, and I thought that maybe... even if I did know he died... maybe you really are Suboshi, just without your memories." Miaka smiled lightly at Shinji. "Then Yui-chan won't feel guilty every time she sees you because you look just like him, act just like him. She knows he's gone. But I know she has a lot of things that she wishes she could have told him. I thought that if you really were him, then she could tell you and then she'd be happy. Not much luck, I guess."
Shinji just stared at Miaka. He couldn't believe it! That's what must have been bothering Yui before. No wonder she didn't want to mention it... A slight moan interrupted them.
"Yui-sama?" He asked timidly.
"Eh...? Suboshi-kun? What are you doing here?" Yui questioned, fluttering her eyelids open. She remembered where she was. "Ah, Shinji-kun, gomen ne. I-"
"I know. Miaka-sama have told me." He smiled. "I'll see you in class. Jya!" Shinji waved over his shoulder before he disappeared, and Taiyo on her heels.
"Miaka..."
"Yui-chan, before you ask, did Seiryuu visit you? Tell you that he needed your help for something?"
"H-hai. How did-"
"Yui-chan..." Miaka looked at her hands, trembeling faintly. "I-I have a bad feeling... and it just won't go away..."
"I know, Miaka... I know..."
The two sat side by side on the bed, holding each other tightly.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~