Pure Snow, Rain Child
Written by Silver Princess
Fushigi Yugi
In a courtyard, in the Empire of Konan, a small group of friends were gathered in the royal gardens. The group laughed and joked with each other, but one stood out to the side. As if afraid to join in the fray. That they might not fit in.
"Oi! Hotohorii-sama!! Join the fun!!" a red haired teenager called from the game of tag the others had joined in. The young emperor smiled softly and shook his head. His long raven locks falling around his face.
"If it's the same to you Tasuki, I'll sit this one out." Tasuki shrugged his shoulder and his concentration went back to the game. With quick movements, he managed to touch another young man's arm. Said young man turned and looked at Tasuki in disbelief.
"You cheater! I said TIME OUT!!" Anger was more than evident in his dark violet eyes. Tasuki snorted in contempt and replied, "Not my fault you're slow, Nuriko. Maybe you're getting old."
A young girl stopped chasing a blue haired man and looked over at the arguing pair. She sighed in agitation. "Those two are ruining the game! Tamahome! Make them stop!!" Miaka turned woe filled eyes to Tamahome and pouted. He smiled weakly and shook his head. "No thanks. Last time I got between those two, I came out with scars."
Hotohorii watched the couple exchange soft words and his heart did a soft flutter. When is it my turn... He smiled softly and turned away. The sun was beginning to set. Colors painted the sky a bright red and the clouds danced on the horizon.
The sweet smells of dinner were beginning to waft in the air. He turned and noticed Miaka sniffing the air, and dragging a reluctant Tamahome along with here.
"Come on!! DINNER!!" she squealed excitedly. Hotohorii smiled at her antics. Loving her all the more. A soft, sad sigh escaped his lips. "I'll always be alone. Even among a group of friends."
Somewhere in the heavens, an angel smiled.
The young emperor turned to announce that dinner was going to be served soon, when he noticed something. A few moments ago, the sky had been a bright orange, and it had now begun to turn a bright white.
The others noticed his preoccupied gaze and followed it. "What the
hell!?" Tasuki shouted. A bright bolt of lightening suddenly split the
bright sky. But no thunder followed, only a crash in the center of
the garden.
Miaka screamed, "TAMAHOME!!!" She grabbed onto his arm and buried her
face in his back, sobbing wildly.
The ground shook with the force. The group was thrown to the ground.
Shouts were approaching as they stood up and dusted off their clothes.
Guards suddenly surrounded the Emperor. "Your Majesty!" "We must get
you to safety!" "Quickly!"
Tamahome was desperately trying to disentangle his arms from Miaka's
octopus-like grip. He was as curious as all the others and wanted to
find out what had caused the strange light and crash.
Hotohorii managed to calm all his guards down. "Now, if you'll just
let me speak for a moment. There's no damage done to me, but I'm afraid
that Priestess of Suzaku has been frightened greatly. If you would
please escort her to inside the Palace."
Several of the guards appeared to want to protest. But he held up a
hand and reached out to Miaka. Gently removing her hands from a
struggling Tamahome, he passed her to the guards. "Guard her as you
would me. Quickly. Take her inside."
Miaka whimpered and reached out towards Tamahome again. But he smiled
and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Go inside. I'll be there later."
Tasuki and Nuriko began to run to the garden center.
With that said, Hotohorii turned his back. Effectively dismissing the guards.
Tamahome had already joined Tasuki and Nuriko in running towards the
crash site. He smiled and turned around to return to the palace with
the guards, when something whispered in his ear...
~I have seen a thousand souls, but you are the other half of mine~
He glanced around the empty courtyard. What was that? Suddenly, fear
rolled within him. Not from his friends, and not his own. A foreign
feeling, but strong enough to almost knock him to the ground again.
With another quick glance around him, he ran after the trio towards the
garden center. He barely noticed when he passed them up. The trio
stopped their pursuit and stared after him in surprise.
Tasuki asked the question on their minds. "What's with him?" The
other two shrugged and ran after the sprinting man.
Hotohorii arrived in the center of the garden before he knew it. The
grass had been blown away, and a large crater was now decorating the
ground. With a cautious gaze, he stepped into the crater, and gasped.
White feathers were spread around the inside of the crater and a small
figure lay eerily still in the center. All he could make out was a
white, gown-like cloth, and dark raven hair. Whether the figure was
female or male was still undetermined. But he would find out.
He took another cautious step toward the figure and reached a hand out.
The trio arrived just as he was about to rouse the figure. Nuriko,
upon noticing the figure, and the potential dangerous situation the
Emperor had gotten himself into, shouted, "NO! Don't touch it!"
At this moment, the figure awoke. It moved with a slow grace as it sat
up. Shaking its head, it looked up at Hotohorii. A white cloth mask
covered its face from its dark golden eyes to the end of its face.
He stood entranced by the strange eyes. They're so familiar. Who is
this person? The figure's eyes seemed to smile up at him and a cloth
covered hand reached out to touch his own. A shock of electricity ran
through his body at the contact.
He let out a gasp of surprise and pain. Memories. From another world.
From another time, flashed his mind. Darkness covered his vision as
he descended to the ground.
Tasuki jumped into the crater and grabbed the Emperor around the waist
and hauled him out. Nuriko and Tamahome jumped into the crater. The
figure gasped as Hotohorii was taken away. A small tear fell from the
corner of its right eye.
It stood up, rather unsteadily, and appeared to want to chase after him.
Nuriko blocked the path. He held up his wrists and his bracelets expanded
to cover his forearms. With an almost evil-like sneer, he taunted
the figure.
"What makes you think you're going to get away with hurting our Emperor
like that? Prepare for trouble." "And make it double." Tamahome
appeared behind the figure. With a battle cry, they both charged at
the still figure.
6/4/2000