Starlit Reflections

by Raye Johnsen
raye_j@yahoo.com

*****
	Fushigi Yuugi is copyright Watase Yuu, Flower Comics,
Studio Perriot, Pioneer Entertainment and Viz
Communications.  All rights remain theirs and I have
no claim to any of them.  Tasuki, Kouji and the Mt.
Leikaku bandits, however, have cheerfully laid claim
to all the money you happen to have in your pockets as
you're reading this.  It and all C&C will be welcome
at raye_j@yahoo.com .
	Author's Note: This fic is written as a combination
celebration/anniversary fic.  On my birthday this
year, which is in the first week of October, I will
celebrate my fifth anniversary as a fanfic author.  I
trust that, in the past five years, I have improved as
a writer!  However, I get a strong feeling that I'm
almost completely unnoticed.  I don't get C&C, hardly
anyone has linked to my webpage, and I'm not on
anyone's list of recommended authors.  I can only
conclude that this is because I'm not that good a
writer.  So I beg you - PLEASE C&C THIS FIC!  I can
only improve with your help!
        Previous chapters are available at
http://www.thejohnsens.com/sr.html

*****

Chapter Thirteen: Choosing The Path


	Yui hung on to Soi's waist, trying to ignore the way
that straddling the horse stretched thigh muscles she
hadn't even been aware she had.  She was now, and
would be even more aware tomorrow.  

	It wasn't supposed to be like this, she was sure. 
She hadn't seen many shows or read many books about
people getting sucked into magical worlds, but she was
fairly certain that the characters hadn't had to flee
from the authorities as soon as they arrived.

	/And you wouldn't either, if you'd let them take you
away from Suboshi and Soi,/ she admonished herself.

	There was nothing she could say to that.

	The stars were clear and bright, unwavering in their
intensity.  She looked up at them and noticed how low
the Autumn Trio hung in the sky.  "Virgo, Libra,
Scorpio," she murmured dreamily.  Somehow, between the
late hour's urging her into sleep and her aching body
keeping her awake, she had managed to fall into a kind
of half-trance.

	The man with the painted face, who had been
introduced to her as Tomo, was riding a little behind
Soi and Yui.  He heard her voice and urged his horse
forward.  "What was that, Lady Yui?" he asked
politely.

	Yui pointed up at the three constellations.  "I was
just thinking that those three constellations are very
bright," she said quietly.  "Virgo, the Maiden. 
Libra, the Scales.  And Scorpio, the Scorpion. 
They're used for divining the future in my world.  I
was born in November, so I'm a Scorpio."

	"That's interesting.  In our mythology, they are the
seven Moon Inns of Seiryuuseikun.  We use them for
divining, too."  Tomo said thoughtfully.  Soi blinked
and cast a sharp sideways glance at the ex-opera
singer.

	"Is there any significance to the signs?  In my
world, there's a lot of meanings in the three signs
there."

	"Of course.  There are several different traits
attached to the seven Moon Inns."

	Soi was strongly tempted to ask if arrogance and
vanity were attributes of Tomoboshi, but held her
tongue.  Tomo continued, "But what are the traits they
hold in your world?"

	"Well, Virgos - people born in September - are
supposed to be perfectionists who are really good at
handling crises."

	Soi glanced ahead at Amiboshi and Suboshi, and
decided that the astrologers in Lady Yui's world
needed to do some more work.

	"Librans - people born in October - are supposed to
be diplomatic and sweet-tempered."

	Soi privately wondered if Tomo had ever been
diplomatic in his life.

	"People born in November are Scorpios, and we're
supposed to be passionate and determined."

	/But, on reflection,/ Soi thought, /these otherworld
astrologers might actually have gotten it right for
once./

	"But this is just all stories.  Legends, really. 
Nobody really believes them anymore.  There's no use
for them anymore.  They're not even accurate."	

	"Not all legends are worthless," Soi put in, without
turning her head.  "It may simply be that the real
truth has been forgotten."

	"Probably," Yui agreed, noticing absently that Tomo
had fallen back into his position in the column again.

******	

	Taking tea with Hotohori, Nuriko decided, was not
nearly so nerve-wracking as taking tea with the
Emperor.  And yet, for the life of her, she could not
determine the exact difference.

	/Maybe it's me,/ she thought, as she blew on the
cherry blossom petal that stubbornly floated on the
top of her tea, refusing to sink to join its siblings
at the bottom of the teacup.  /No, I'm being silly./

	She sat back on her cushion, and studied Hotohori
over the rim of her teacup.  He was, she acknowledged,
a very handsome young man, without equal if one were
looking for beauty in the classic mode.  Elder Brother
was cast into the shade, and she was entirely
eclipsed.  Yet he was so much more than just his face.

	The Emperor smiled at her, and somehow it was
Hotohori again, sitting across from her.  "Is the tea
too hot?" he asked her courteously.

	"No," she replied.  "It's just this one petal won't
sink."

	"Isn't that supposed to be a sign of good luck?"

	"I wish," she replied sourly.  "We could use some
good luck.  No, that's only when the stalk of the tea
leaf floats to the surface.  Drinking your tea and
obviously swallowing your petals is simply bad
manners."

	He sipped his own tea and twitched his eyebroys at
her over the rim of the cup.

	She glared back.  

	He set the cup down gently, and smiled at her
maddeningly.  "You'll note," he said sweetly, "that I
didn't say anything."

	Nuriko rolled her eyes.  "Sometimes, Lord Hotohori,
you are worse than Elder Brother.  And I *don't* mean
it as a compliment," she added sharply when Hotohori's
smile filled with satisfaction.

	"How *is* Sir Rokou?  I haven't been to call on him
since that day a week ago.  I meant to ask him how
Tamahome's brothers are settling into their new
apprenticeships."

	Nuriko grasped onto this emotionally-neutral subject
with relief.  "I haven't been to see Elder Brother
since then either, but he wrote to me a few days ago. 
The two boys are settling in fine, apparently.  So are
their sisters - Kourin gets along like a house afire
with Yuiren, and Gyoukouran is the most *sensible*
maid I've ever had in my life.  When Lady Miaka comes
back and we go out looking for the other three
Shichiseishi again, I may very well drag her along."

	"Tamahome may have something to say to that."

	Nuriko lifted an eyebrow.  "*Tamahome* is wandering
around as if someone was feeding him opium."

	Hotohori laid his cup down, a worried expression on
his face.  "You think that...?"

	Nuriko shook her head.  "No, he isn't addicted, and I
will admit that I did investigate that.  It just seems
to be shock over Miaka's absence.  I don't really
understand why, though.  We don't seem to be affected
nearly as badly."

	"It may be," Hotohori said thoughtfully, "that he's
missing her as more than the Priestess."

	She flicked her eyes at him.  "Then I would expect
*you* to be just as affected," she commented, her
voice carefully blank.  "You were attracted to her
too."

	He laughed.  "No, I was in love with an image I'd
built in my head.  I wanted a perfect woman and I
expected the Priestess of Suzaku to be one.  Naturally
enough, she isn't - and I am wise enough to admit it. 
Tamahome, though," he continued, "doesn't seem to have
had the same preconceptions.  His feelings are
inspired by Miaka herself, not the legend."

	"Oh."  Nuriko sipped at her tea.  Finally, she said,
in a very small voice, "I'm sorry."

	"Whatever for?"

	"The death of an illusion... it's just as painful as
any other death."

	Hotohori smiled, his eyes intense as he stared
directly into Nuriko's eyes.  "Don't worry.  I am
consoled by the birth of another regard, one that is
based on fact rather than dreams."

	She blushed, and glanced down, staring at her tea. 
When she glanced up again, his eyes were still on her
face.  The silence stretched, long and uncomfortable,
between them.  Finally, Nuriko said softly, "I
never... intended to be more than a friend to you."

	Hotohori felt his face fall.  The breeze was suddenly
icy cold, blowing right through him.

	"I wasn't going to tell you that I wanted more."

	He jerked his head up, eyes alight with sudden hope. 
Nuriko was staring off into the middle distance, her
face and tone serious.

	"But... if you feel an honest regard for me, I should
tell you - I feel an honest regard for you."  She
finally turned her head to look at him directly.  

	The silence this time was no less charged, but not
nearly so uncomfortable.  It was broken when Nuriko
glanced toward the path and commented,  "Oh, look,
here comes Lord Yukino.  It must be time for you to
attend evening Court."

	"And Nuriko will join me for supper," Hotohori said
hastily, as they both stood.

	"Of course, Your Majesty," the Court Princess replied
as Lord Yukino came up to the table, made a gracious
courtesy, and left.

*****

	When Keisuke met his best friend, Kiryuu Tetsuya, at
the National Library, he wasn't expecting his friend
to be so agitated.  Tetsuya kept glancing up at the
people who were passing by their table, and twice
dropped his pen.

	Finally, Keisuke stood up.  "Come on, Tetsuya," he
said.  "I'm hungry.  Let's go get something to eat."

	Tetsuya tilted his head up, his messy brown hair
falling over the sunglasses he was wearing, even
though it was indoors and after dark.  Whenever anyone
asked him why, Tetsuya would grin at them and reply,
"Because, when you're this cool, the sun shines on you
twenty-four hours a day!"

	But Tetsuya wasn't grinning now.  He looked worried,
for some reason.  "Should we?" he asked.  "We really
ought to keep working...." 

	"No.  I need food.  *Now*," Keisuke declared,
dragging him up out of his chair by his arm.

	"Fine, fine," Tetsuya sighed, picking up his
notebook.

	When they were safely ensconced in a nearby ramen
shop, and he had snarfed down his order, Keisuke began
to quiz Tetsuya.  "So, what's up?"

	Tetsuya wasn't a student of the Yuuki School of
High-Speed Eating, much less a master like Keisuke, so
he was still halfway through his chicken ramen. 
"Wuhaahyuh-" he swallowed, and began again.  "What are
you talking about?"

	Keisuke gave him a very old-fashioned look.  "You've
been acting really weird all night.  What's up?"

	"I'm worried."

	"Thank you, Captain Obvious.  What are you worried
*about*?"

	He could see Tetsuya's eyebrows lift, as he clearly
considered confiding in him.  He felt his hopes lift,
and then be dashed, when Tetsuya finally muttered,
"Stuff."

	Such a short, dead-end answer was very unlike
Tetsuya.  He didn't talk when he didn't have anything
to say, but he usually did have something to say, and
he was hardly ever rude.  Keisuke decided to keep
pressing.  "What kind of stuff?"

	Keisuke was finally silenced when Tetsuya said,
"Family stuff."

	"Oh," Keisuke finally said.  Not talking about family
problems was something the son of a divorced couple
understood perfectly.  "Well, you do know you can tell
me anything, if you do want to talk, right?"

	"Right," Tetsuya said.  After a pause, he added,
"Thanks.  For noticing."

	"Hey, I'm your best friend, right?"

	They shifted onto the subject of their university
work, and the atmosphere lightened.  They were both
relaxed and Tetsuya, although still far more tense
than his usual laidback self, was no longer doing an
excellent impression of high-tension wire when they
pushed aside the curtain to step outside the little
cafe.

	Miaka ran past them.

	"Miaka!" Keisuke said, shocked.

	"Why was she running to the library so fast?" Tetsuya
asked mildly.

	Keisuke glanced over at Tetsuya.  "We have to get
back to the library, before she does!"

	Tetsuya grinned, for the first time that evening. 
"All right.  We parked over here...."

*****

	Tamahome had been thinking, while birds nested on his
head and he amused the Court servants with his
thoughtless antics.

	He'd seen his sisters running around the Palace, and
spoken to both of them.  His brothers had both sent
him letters from their apprenticeships in the city. 
They were all four of them settled, but he had no idea
what was happening with his father, especially with
nobody at home to look after him.

	And, as if an omen, he saw Nuriko running along the
corridor - obviously to attend on the Emperor, as she
was wearing a particularly fine set of boys' robes. 
So he stepped out into the corridor to attract her
attention.

	"Hello, Tamahome," Nuriko called out, cheerily.  "I'm
sorry, I'm in a bit of a hurry.  Is there anything I
can do to help you?"

	"Yes," Tamahome said.  "I need you to ask the Emperor
for me for permission for me to leave Court and go
visit my father."

*****

Author's Notes:

	1. The Western Zodiac is fairly well-known in Japan,
and many manga characters have their Western star sign
listed among their characteristics - including the
Fushigi Yuugi characters.

	2. Opium was a chronic problem in China from its
first development.  It became a crisis of nationwide
proportions during the late eighteenth and early
nineteenth centuries, but the problems of addiction,
illegal distribution and criminal actions by addicts
looking for their next fix were known from before the
Christian Era. 

	3. Hotohori will *never* come out and tell anyone
that he loves them.  Chinese history and legend is
full of stories of Emperors who fell in love and who
attended to their lover to the point that their
empires fell apart around them.  If an Emperor ever
said the fatal words "I love you", the unfortunate
recipient of his affections would find themselves dead
before sunset the next day at the hands of the Court
Eunuchs.  If a Chinese Emperor fell in love, he was
forced to express it by actions, gifts, and extremely
mild phrases, so that if called on it, he could deny
any especial affection and so save his lover's life.

	4. Tetsuya's defence of his sunglasses is snitched
from one of the characters in the movie 'Weird
Science'.


=====
raye_j@yahoo.com
http://www.thejohnsens.com/index.html

"In the end, you're always by yourself.
That's the point."
   - Whistler, 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'

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