[Fushigi Yuugi] FROM THE ASHES (1/5) by Antigone I'm not sure how I wanna debut to this list but... this fic wrote itself before I had time to decide. --;; Anyway, it's better than nothing. This is the beginning, just basically set up. It won't appeal to everyone, since I don't focus on a wealth of characters. But if you read it and like it, please let me know. :) I'm also on the look-out for a second beta, so if interested... From the Ashes Part 1/5 Me. By Antigone [Author's notes at the bottom.] White. That was what I saw, all white, blurry shapes that slowly began to gel into objects before my vision. I felt dizzy and sick, and I hurt everywhere. For a second panic seized my heart, and my vision started to go black. I was back, back in the universe of the four gods. Waking up for the first time, to look at Nakago's face and have the memories of what happened hit me in the stomach. To make me retch, and begin to burn in my own private hell. All over again… no, god please… "Yui?" a gentle voice pulled me back to reality, and I blinked up at the familiar face like I had never seen her before. "Mom?" I said weakly, and she smiled, the lines on her face relaxing. The room behind me, white, sterile. I was in the hospital. "How do you feel, darling?" Her hand pushed sweaty bangs from my face. "What happened?" While she was explaining to me that I apparently passed out from exhaustion and Yuuki Keisuke brought me here, I was trying to get my aching head to piece together what my memory couldn't supply. The last thing I remembered was fire. Destruction. Seiryuu… oh god… "Miaka!" I strained against the pain in my body to sit up, and my mother hovered over me, hands on my shoulders, trying to push me back to the bed. "Yui, please just relax. It's alright-" "Miaka! Is Miaka okay?" I grabbed her sleeves and looked right up at her; the wild look in my eyes must have unnerved her. After all that happened, my mother who never really knew me, now would understand me even less. "Miaka-chan? She's fine, Yui, she's at home I think." I blinked. Didn't she call Suzaku? Wasn't that why I am here? "What about the fires? How many people are dead?" My throat hurt, my head… How many, like Suboshi, are dead because of me? Worried, my mother pressed a cool, manicured hand to my forehead. "What are you talking about, honey? Did you dream something?" Dizzy, confused, I shut my eyes against harsh reality. Did I dream? What did I dream…? I woke up again, feeling sick. "Yui-san?" I opened my eyes to Miaka's older brother and his best friend, Tetsuya. My mother must have left to get coffee, or went to work, god only knew. Keisuke smiled gently at me when I lowered my eyes from his gaze. "How are you feeling, woman of the hour?" Tetsuya asked, and I felt intense annoyance at the fact that his eyes were masked by those dark glasses. "Really crappy," I answered shortly, "how would you feel?" Far from touched that they came to see me, I was on edge and uncomfortable. Why are they here? "How is Miaka doing?" "Alive," Keisuke told me. "Tired. She's sleeping now, but mom will make her go to school tomorrow anyway. She wants to see you, I'll call her now that you are awake." "Nnn," I held out a hand to stop him as he headed toward the door. Both boys looked at me in surprise. I could say I'm tired, that I didn't want Miaka to come all the way here when she's ill. But I couldn't fool them anyway. "I don't think I want to see her just yet." I avoided Tetsuya's knowing gaze, and Keisuke's disappointed one. "Suit yourself," Tetsuya shrugged. "This way none of her wishes will come true." "What do you mean," I demand, "Suzaku granted all her wishes, right?" Then I paused, and painfully pulled myself into a sitting position, "Just what did I miss, anyway?" I got the full story from Keisuke mostly, with Tetsuya throwing in a few random points here and there. Miaka's last wish was for Tokyo to return to it's original condition, which explains my mother's confusion at my question earlier. Her second wish to seal Seiryuu… and because of that, Nakago was dead. The news hit me rather hard, considering. One hand strayed to my ear, cupping the earring my seishi had given me after I called Seiryuu. Tetsuya was about to continue his retelling of events, but Keisuke stopped him, giving me a few moments of silence, as I sat there wondering why my eyes were filling with tears. I took a deep breath, preparing myself. "Go on," I whispered. Tamahome faded away right before Miaka's eyes. Just like Suzuno, who couldn't stay in the book, Keisuke said, Tamahome just couldn't exist in a world that wasn't his own. Left by herself on the sidewalk, Miaka tearfully told her brother the book wasn't evil, but wonderful, before she passed out into his arms. In that Miaka and I would always, always differ. There was nothing wonderful about the universe of the four gods to me. "So you see what I mean?" Tetsuya had lingered behind Keisuke to talk to me alone. He took off the shades, and I found myself looking in confusion at intense hazel eyes. "I don't believe your 'just yet' excuse at all. You will avoid Miaka for as long as you can, won't you?" His voice was kind, but I hated him for knowing me so well, when he had no reason to. "You don't understand!" I said, "It was true, what I said before; we can never go back to how we were. It's too late. I don't want to see her if I can't be with her! I don't want to hear her forgive me when it won't change a thing." "All through the universe of the four gods, all through everything," he tossed something on the bed in front of me, but for some reason I couldn't tear my eyes away from his. "All through the fevers, and broken bones, the betrayed trust, the loneliness, the death, everything, she kept going. Because she wanted two wishes: to be with Tamahome. And to help you." I lowered my eyes, to see cursed book lying on in front of me. I recoiled. "For you," Tetsuya said again, quietly. "She was always thinking about you." Her strangled screams echoed in my head, "Give Yui back to me! Give me back my best friend!!" "I know," I whispered, shutting my eyes, "I know already. Please take that away from me." He did as I asked, and paused by the door. "I'm sorry, Yui-san. I don't want to make you feel bad; you are a brave girl, but don't be afraid of your best friend. Not when you are all she has left. After all, her first wish, was you." I clenched my fists, glared at the door as it closed behind him because I knew he was right. All she wanted was to be with Tamahome, and have her best friend back. It was within my power to give her the latter, and I owed her that much. Her two wishes, real wishes, from the bottom of her heart. I suppose I never really knew her, what she was capable of… Then again, I guess I never really knew myself, either. TBC in part 2: Miaka AN. I wrote this because, well, there is a period time that is skimmed over the manga I wanted to flesh out. ;; Being a big Yui fan, I thought to do something in her POV would not only be fun for me (and pretty rare in the Fyff world… at least I hope I'm original ^^;), but would also close the gaps in the story and her character. I noticed somewhere in the span of time not covered by Yuu Watase-sensei, Yui goes from the scared, confused, weak-willed girl in part I to the beautiful, confident woman she is in part II. I just wondered what brought about such a drastic change (besides Yuu Watase's wonderful deus ex machina). So I decided I'd play with it. Lol. Why not, right? ::glances at her history of language text, kanji flashcards, and volumes of 14th century literature piled by her backpack:: I mean, it's not like I have anything better to do. Heh heh.;; Right now it looks like this fic will have five parts, and bleed a little into the first chapter in volume 14 of the manga, although so far I don't think I'm going to go into detail about that (since that's where Yuu Watase picks up again). The parts are: 1: Me. 2: Miaka 3: Tetsuya 4: Taka 5: Me, again.