Disclaimer: All characters and anything related to Fushigi Yuugi belongs to Watase Yuu. I am not making any money from this so if anybody should decide to sue me for anything in my pages I'm just a poor student and you may just be wasting your money. And so forth and all that good stuff.
It was dark. People crowded the exits of the theater. Many were happy to have gotten their money's worth. Most came out in groups of twos or threes, playfully chatting about the events that occurred in the movie they had just watched. As the last batch of people passed through the glass doors, a group of six heard an extremely happy Miaka announce, "I'm hungry."
"What!?" Taka looked at his insatiable girlfriend. "You just ate a large tub of popcorn and soda."
"Miaka, we were late for the movie because you wanted to stop by and get some ice cream," Yui reminded her friend.
"Demo...," Miaka complained.
"It's okay." Kourin smiled at her new friend. "We had fun roaming around the city with you guys. To show our appreciation, why don't all of you come to our house for dinner," invited Kourin.
"Chinese food!!" Miaka's eyes lit up at the thought of eating gourmet Chinese food.
Saihitei smiled as he saw Miaka's mouth open as if to start eating. "Kourin makes killer Lo Mien." He winked at his girlfriend who blushed and squeezed his arm at a shared private joke.
"Are you sure, Saihitei-san," asked Taka lamely. He mentally controlled himself to make sure to address Saihitei as -san instead of -sama. "We could always just go to a restaurant."
"Iie, we have to go home and we have to cook dinner for the others anyway. You guys might as well come and join us. Won't you like that Miaka-san?" Kourin asked Miaka already knowing the voracious girl's answer. Kourin was very pleased at meeting her new friends and enjoyed their company. She wanted to repay them for showing her and her boyfriend around.
"All right. I'll just follow you Saihitei-san." Tetsuya said as he and Saihitei spent half an hour trying to decide how to get to the house.
"Perhaps that would be better, Tetsuya. I am not yet familiar with the street names but I do know how to get there."
After passing a few streets and making quite a bit of turns, Tetsuya parked next to a big wooden gate. It was a traditional Japanese wooden gate, hinged onto white plastered walls that kept the view of the street apart from the house. The walls were about twelve foot long making the tip of the roof the only visible sign that there was a house within.
"This house belongs to a friend of mine." Kourin stated as she started to push the wooden gates open. "His parents usually stay here when they have to tend to their business here in Japan."
"Wow. It's beautiful." Yui stared as she followed the stone path that directed the group towards the house. Before the house and around the path was an Oriental garden. A bridge cut through the pond that stood directly on the path to the house.
"It's so peaceful and quiet." Taka looked around at the varieties of plants and trees that covered the grounds.
Tetsuya looked at the house. It was a traditional Japanese house built a foot a from the ground with the traditional rice paper walls. It appeared smaller than his American styled house but it had a charm and aura that made it look bigger and more wholesome.
"Look at all the fishes." Miaka was standing on the right side of the bridge leaning over to look at the pond. "You can still see them even though it's dark." Miaka was reminded of the pond at Kounan palace and all her friends that had lived there. "It's like Kounan," she silently mumbled to herself.
Taka put a reassuring arm around his girlfriend and smiled. Miaka gazed up from her reverie to look at his eyes. "Maybe we'll all be together here too." Taka smiled at her words and squeezed her assuringly.
"Ahem." Tetsuya coughed and the others laughed and smiled at the couple who blushed at the realization that they were not alone.
"We're home." Kourin called out as the group entered the house. "Onii-sama? Doukun?"
"Haiii...," called a voice from somewhere inside. Saihitei herded their guest into a room that acted as their living room. There were no chairs or sofas in sight. Instead there were some pillows scattered about and around a small low table to act as chairs. There were only a few furniture in the room.
"Please make yourselves comfortable and I'll get us some tea." Kourin suggested.
"Kourin. Saihitei-san." A new face appeared behind the couple. He was about six feet tall. His lightly pinkish hair was tied into a ponytail behind his back. He was wearing a dark red shirt and jeans. However it was his pretty face that struck Miaka as familiar. Familiar but different. At first Miaka couldn't put a name to the face. "Is he a classmate of mine," Miaka thought. Then Taka's hand squeezed hers. Looking into her lover's eyes, she saw the answer in them. Her own eyes widened with recognition and she had to look at the new figure again to reassure himself that it was him. "Chiriko's all grown up," she thoughtfully admired. "He was so depressed about being so small but now he's so grown up. And he's so cute, too."
"Kourin, is this another fan club of yours?" Doukun playfully asked his friend, knowing that the couple tended to attract a lot of admirers. He looked at the visitors and smiled at them as Kourin raised her eyebrows at him.
"This is my supposedly best friend, Doukun Ou." Kourin made the introductions and greeted each one respectfully.
"Doukun, where's my brother? Saihitei said that he left you and him at the mall."
"Uhm...He just called about thirty minutes ago and said he's coming home soon. I left Ryuuen-san an hour after Saihitei-san left. He said I could just go home because he still wanted to look around."
"I see," Kourin said thoughtfully. "I'll fetch some tea and snacks from the kitchen. Saihitei, Doukun will you entertain our guess while I get dinner ready."
"Hai." Doukun sat down on a cushion and smiled at their visitor. "So Tetsuya-san, Taka-san you are going to Seimangakuin University. I have heard that that is a very good university. What are your majors?"
Taka grinned inwardly reminded of the same book minded seishi; Chiriko in this new form of Doukun. Tetsuya answered, "Well, right know I'm really interested in history research. Taka, a friend of mine and me are researching about a particular religion and dynasty of China."
"Really how interesting. What particular religion are you interested in, perhaps I can give you my input on it," offered Doukun.
"So, Miaka," Saihitei began, wanting to do his part in entertaining their guest. "What are you planning on doing after graduating from high school."
Miaka grinned sheepishly. "Aaa...I--"
"Hellooo...I'm back." A voice from the front door fatefully rescued Miaka from producing an answer. She inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Why don't you go into the living room. It's too your left."
"Are you sure, I'm not imposing," a new voice responded.
"No, no. Kourin always likes company. Go ahead."
The company assembled around the living room heard the front door carefully slide close. The voices were coming closer to the room and the footsteps of the new arrivals were getting louder. The other voice was giggling at his bashful companion. The louder of the two voices urged on his friend towards the company.
"Ah. Oniisama." Kourin appeared from the kitchen with a tray filled with a tea pot, some cups and some snacks. Her smiling face was turned towards the doorway leading to the front door. From the same doorway appeared a timid face tinged the color of red.
"Keisuke!"
"Oniichan!!"
"Mi-a-ka...," Keisuke was dumbstrucked to find his sister and friends here.
"Konbanwa," a voice said happily behind Keisuke. "A-ra! Kourin what did you do, invite the whole neighborhood," the man with the almost the same face as Kourin appeared behind Keisuke. He had Kourin's purple gaze and hair but where Kourin's tresses were long and wavy, this man's hair was cut short which perfectly framed his immaculate face which was slightly flawed by a small mark which rolled down from the left side of his left eye like a single black tear.
After another round of introduction occurred, everyone sat down and ensued a lively conversation about plans for the weekend. Miaka was happily chomping down on the snacks that Kourin had brought earlier. She looked at the new purple haired arrival. This was her Nuriko. She smiled happily into her cookie at the thought. As she saw Ryuuen and Kourin together she now understood how Nuriko's similarities could have passed for a woman. Ryuuen was the same built as Kourin, perhaps more bulkier than Kourin but Ryuuen was slender for a man. Where Kourin was beautiful, Ryuuen was too pretty for a man. Here there was no mistaking which half belonged to the male gender. Ryuuen and Kourin had the same smile, same laugh, they were almost the same person. It was hard to believe that they were two different people. "Nuriko ka...," Miaka unconsciously murmured as she remembered other happy times with these same friends.
"Miaka," Taka whispered to his beloved, smiling and knowing what she was thinking.
Miaka smiled back. She put down her tea cup down, closed her eyes and leaned towards Taka, digging a niche for herself around Taka's embrace. "Thank you."
Taka looked down at the girl in his arms. "For what?"
Miaka didn't look up but snuggled deeper into her lover's arms. "For making this miracle happen."
"Ahhh...no that's not it!!!" Keisuke's cry cut through the the couple's serene moment. Miaka looked up to see her brother trying to recover his composure.
"Honto ni...," Ryuuen put on a thoughtful manner to his face. "You mean you we're trying to pick me up then." Ryuuen smirked and glanced at Keisuke from the corner of his eye, who was looking at him dumbfoundedly and wishing that he would just drop the conversation. "What!? I wasn't pretty enough for you?" Ryuuen sneered and raised an eyebrow at Keisuke's direction.
"A..aa.."
"Keisuke...." Tetsuya couldn't help but snicker at his friend's situation. However, much he wanted to save his friend from Ryuuen's onslaught he did not want to fall victim to another of Ryuuen's witticism.
"Ryuuen-san, if you keep this up, Keisuke-san's face will explode." Doukun made an effort to save Keisuke. "You know you do look like a girl from far away."
"I can't help it, if I have the face of an angel with pouty lips and big, big gorgeous eyes." Ryuuen put both of his hands under his chin, puckered his lips out and batted his eyelashes at Doukun, attempting to look seductively.
"And here you complain that I'm vain." Saihitei gracefully shook his head in mock rebuke to his friend's acclimation of his beauty.
"Oi! Oi! You don't see me stopping to check myself out at ever mirror that I see, do you?" Ryuuen raised his eyebrow smugly at his friend.
Miaka giggled trying to suppress her laughter but it eventually overflowed to a hearty chortle. All in the room looked at Miaka's outburst in surprise. "Next thing you know Ryuuen will be cross dressing." Saihitei, Doukun and Kourin looked at Miaka incredulously. Taka, Yui, Tetsuya and Keisuke only stared at Miaka in disbelief. Miaka clamped her hands to her mouth regretting saying her thoughts out loud.
Ryuuen just looked at the girl and pondered her words. Then he smiled and winked at Miaka easing her apprehensive hands. "That pretty, ne?" Then Miaka and Ryuuen laughed. The others just looked at the two and wondered what was so humorous.
Kourin shook her head at her brother, "Just don't let me see you going through my make up." Then she disentangled herself from Saihitei's close embrace and headed for the kitchen. "I better go and get things ready."
Ryuuen stood up to follow her sister to the kitchen. "Uhm. Maybe I should help you."
Kourin whirled around to berate her brother. "And what's that suppose to mean."
Ryuuen stop just in time to keep from bumping into her. "Well. I just remember a certain evening when I was teaching you to cook Lo Mien and you damn near set fire to the whole kitchen," then he silently added "...not mentioning the house."
Doukun smiled. "I remember that."
Saihitei nodded. "It was worth it though, ne Doukun? A few more cooking lessons like that and she'll be a perfect wife."
Kourin glared at her boyfriend, then at her friend, then her brother. Suddenly she turn around and with her chin held high marched into the kitchen. "Hmph."
"Aaahh." Ryuuen looked at his sister's stiff back and couldn't help but smile sadly. Then he looked at their guests, then at his best friend. "I don't even know why I introduced you two," he told Saihitei "if this keeps up I'll be a grandfather by the time you two ever get married."
Saihitei smiled at his friend. "'Cause you love me, ne?" He taunted his girlfriend's brother.
Ryuuen shrugged, rolled his eyes and reluctantly followed his sister
into the kitchen. "And the begging part helped too...," Ryuuen
responded from the kitchen.
Saihitei smirked at his friends comment and turned around to see the
bewildered faces of his guest. "So..."
Author's Notes: I know what your thinking and NO!!! It's a friendship kind of love. Okay. I don't know if I got Tetsuya's school right. I was trying to make out the letters of it in the FY OVA2, but they were all stuck together it was hard to read it out.
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