I like how this is going so far.
I wonder if anyone's a little P.O'ed
about how I left off part two.
(Probably not, but a girl can dream,
can't she?) Anyway, I'm just hoping
I don't mess this up. Um, okay, y'all
know I'm going by the manga for "FY".
(Because the baka's in charge of
cartoons won't put it on TV on a
channel I can watch.....) There are
18 volumes in the manga and all that
is out in America are volumes one
through three. Sooo....I only have
those to work with, and I'm starting
toward the end of three, so the "FY"
world will be changed. But that's to
be expected, isn't it?


Searching
Part three



_______________________________________________________

    Standing calf-length in the cold water and
soaking wet was the girl who he'd dreamed of
all his life.
    Hotohori could only stare at her. It was
obvious that she didn't realize he was there,
which was fine with him. For the moment, he
was content only to watch her.
    Her long, silvery-blonde hair was pulled
into an odd style that was sagging cutely
from the weight of the water and set off her
intense blue eyes. Possibly the most startling
thing about her appearance was the golden
crescent moon set in the middle of her forehead,
but it only added to her charm. Her cheeks and
kissable lips were an adorable shade of pink,
and the wet, white gown she was wearing...
Hotohori blushed and moved his gaze back to
her face. The state her dress was in at the
moment didn't leave much room for imagination...
    She was an angel--no, a goddess--no,
perfection itself. No, not even that was
right, there were no words to explain her.
    Suzaku, help me. What am I going to do?
    Practically oblivious to her surroundings,
the girl reached up and undid her hair from
its restraints, letting it fall freely around
her. She took a strand and began trying to
ring it out, muttering quietly to herself.
    "Watch the first step, she says. First
step my foot! There was *no* first step, the
first step was nonexistent!" She flung the
hair she had been working on over her shoulder
and grabbed a new strand. She looked up at
the sky, her eyes sad. "You always did have
a wicked sense of humor didn't you, mother?"
    The way her sweet voice asked that was
heartbreaking. Before he could stop himself,
Hotohori took a step forward.
    The girl looked over in his direction
quickly, obviously surprised at there being
another person around.
    "Umm, hi," she said, smiling nervously.
"Is this your fountain? It's very nice.
Sorry for trespassing. I didn't mean to.
Please don't be angry."
    "Don't concern yourself," he replied,
finally finding his voice. "Allow me to
help you out of there." He walked forward
and held out his hand. The smile she gave
him was worth his entire domain.
    "Thanks." She reached to take his hand,
but just as her fingers brushed his, the
garden around then was filled with guards.
The girl recoiled and sloshed backwards to
the center of the pond.
    "Come out of there now or we will drag
you out," the captain ordered, stepping in
front of Hotohori. "You are under arrest
for the attempted assassination of his
majesty, the Emperor."
    "Assassination? Oh no, sir. I would
never kill a person!" Her eyes were wide
with fright and she reached up to a small
crystal hanging around her neck. "You
automatically assume just because I'm here
that I'm trying to kill someone?"
    Nuriko rushed up beside Hotohori
protectively. "So you want us to believe
you just decided to take an innocent stroll
around his majesty's gardens where only
the most privileged are allowed?"
    "Yes! If I were trying to murder someone,
why would I be in this freakin' fountain?"
    Nuriko pointed at her. "You're the
assassin, not me. How would I know?"
    "Look, just lay off. I didn't choose to
be here, I don't even know where here is.
So back off and I'll just leave, okay?"
    "No." Nuriko and the captain of the
guards made their way to the fountain while
others surrounded it so the girl could not
escape.
    I must do something. They would kill
someone like her?
    "Stop." Hotohori moved his way to the
front, pushing Nuriko into the water as he
did so. "We did not give the order for you
to arrest her. She has not harmed us. Would
you put an innocent to death, captain?"
    "But, your majesty..."
    "Step away from the fountain, everyone!"
No one moved. "We have commanded you to step
away! If you are worried about us, we will
have the constellation Nuriko to stand by us
for protection."
    Hesitantly, they obeyed. Nuriko picked
himself up and stood in the fountain as
Hotohori made his way to the edge, holding
out his hand. "Come." He smiled. "That water
must be freezing."
    She looked over the guards, her hand
still at the crystal at her throat, then
stepped forward and took his hand. Instantly,
he felt a shock go down his arm and could
tell by the look on the girl's face that she
felt it, too. Blushing, she lifted her skirts
and stepped onto the dry ground. Nuriko waited
until the girl had regained her balance before
joining them, looking at her suspiciously.
    "Guards, you may be dismissed," Hotohori
said. They waited until the guards were gone
before any of them spoke.
    "Okay, kid, who are you?" Nuriko demanded.
    "You aren't very nice, are you?" She
peered at him for a moment. "Are you a man or
a woman?"
    "Well, I.."
    "You're a man, aren't you? I thought so."
    Nuriko seethed at yet another person knowing
his secret, though the girl smiled in such an
innocent, friendly way that it made his anger
vanish.
    "What is your name?" Hotohori asked as the
three began to walk back to the palace.
    "Call me Usagi. I have too many names to
think about." She gave a small laugh. "Sorry
for all the trouble I caused. It really isn't
my fault I'm here."
    An idea struck both Hotohori and Nuriko
at the same time. "Did you come here through
a book?"
    "No!" She giggled as if the thought was
amusing. "My mother brought me."
    "Then you aren't a Miko?"
    "A what?"
    "A priestess of one of the four gods."
    "No way. I have a friend who's training to
be a priestess though, at her grandfather's
shrine. Does that help?"
    "Not really. I don't understand though,
how you fell from the sky..."
    "Don't ask. It's too complicated. So are
you the emperor?"
    "Yes."
    "You're pretty young."
    "I didn't have much of a choice in the matter."
    "Oh, I understand, believe me. I know how
stuff like that goes. What's your name?"
    "I am Hotohori, and that's Nuriko."
    "Well, it's nice to meet you, and thank you
for sticking up for me, but I should probably be
going now, I have something important to do."
    "Why don't you stay?"
    She blushed. "I wouldn't want to impose."
    "You won't be any trouble. A lot less that
Nuriko is at any rate." He smiled as Nuriko
protested.
    "Thanks! You know, you really should think
about getting a water heater for that fountain."
    "What's a water heater?"
    "Never mind." She shuddered as they neared
the entrance to the palace. "Wait, can I change
real quick? I'm freezing."
    Hotohori looked at Nuriko, neither of them
knowing what she meant.
    Is she going to stop right here and strip?
    The thought was a good one, but it seemed
doubtful. Usagi stopped and closed her eyes.
The moon on her forehead and the crystal around
her neck began to glow. She was bathed in
blinding light momentarily, and when it cleared,
she stood there in a completely different set
of clothes. More surprising than that, her hair
was dry, although it was not back up in its
buns, and the moon on her forehead was gone.
    Nuriko leaned over. "Your majesty, those
look like the kind of clothes from Miaka's
world."
    Usagi smiled brightly. "That's better.
What? Why are you staring at me?" Suddenly,
she moaned and hit herself in the head. "Oh,
right! I forgot! It's the magic, isn't it?
Sorry. I didn't think about that. Please
don't hold the fact that I'm a very unusual
person against me."
    What? Magic? Not even Miaka has magic.
    "What are you?"
    "Um, that takes too much explaining." For
a moment, her smile disappeared. "Besides, I
don't like to talk about my past. Look, if
you guys want to be my friends, fine, good,
I love having friends, but you have to let me
be me. My other friends don't and I don't know
how much longer I can put up with it."
    Nuriko snorted. "Everyone knows how that
feels, and almost everyone has a painful past."
    Hotohori had to agree.
_______________________________________________________

    "Your majesty, are you even listening?"
    Hotohori looked up at his council and sighed.
"Of course we are."
    Liar, you were thinking about last night.
    The young emperor wished that there was a
way to order his head to shut up.
    "Your majesty, this is an old argument. Think
of Hong-Nan. You are eighteen, you need a wife and
heirs if not for your own happiness, then for your
country. With all due respect, your majesty, you
know it is unlikely that you will be able to marry
the priestess of Suzaku. There are hundreds of
maidens here that we have have brought in for you
to choose from. And though, as you mentioned before,
none are anywhere near as beautiful as you, they all
have the capacity to be a good empress and make you
happy."
    "What if we do not want any from those? What
if we choose someone else? Would our council object
to a servant or a kitchen girl or a foreigner?"
    "Highness, we are so desperate for your
happiness, we would not object to the lowest
slave! We have had everything ready for weeks.
Say the name of a girl and we can have you wed
by sundown!"
    "To anyone?"
    The council member speaking sighed in barely
concealed exasperation. "Yes. Anyone."
    Hotohori turned away, the image of a certain
someone in his head. Someone he had met just the
night before. "We agree. We shall have our chosen
by sundown. Is this acceptable, council?"
    "Yes."
________________________________________________________

    Usagi sat on the bed in the room that had
been given to her, swinging her feet. She was
so bored! She had tried to leave the palace,
just to go on a walk and try to find some yu
ye, but had been stopped. So then she'd tried
to find either Nuriko or Hotohori, but she'd
gotten lost, and then had been stopped. At this
moment, there were guards outside her door to
make sure that she didn't cause any more trouble.
    Reminds me of the Silver Millennium when
Mother used to have me locked in my room for
sneaking out.
    She stifled a laugh and leaned back. The
room had a window....her first two times
sneaking around the palace had been purely
innocent, but this time...dare she sneak out
just to get on the guards' nerves? She used
to do it all the time, and it would be a cure
for her boredom...
    Grinning, she stood and quietly made her
way to the window. Outside her door, she could
hear the muffled voices of the guards as they
talked to someone.
    That means I have to hurry.
    She examined the lock on the window and
when she thought she had a way to open it
without a sound, but make it seem like she
*hadn't* used the window, she began to slide
the glass up. Behind her, she heard a small
sound, but she ignored it, concentrating on
the window instead. Her finger slipped and
the glass pane slid easily and noisily back
down.
    "Urrg!" Behind her, she heard soft laughter.
    Uh-oh, I'm caught.
    She spun around, ready to defend herself if
necessary, only to see the emperor standing by
the closed door.
    "Oh, it's you." She smiled. "You had me
scared there for a minute."
    "What were you trying to do?"
    "Well, they had me locked in here so I
was going to sneak out," Usagi answered
truthfully, feeling talkative.
    "I see that." Hotohori frowned. "Usagi, I
must speak with you about something."
    "Okay." She plopped down on her bed, all
the chairs been taken away, and motioned for
him to join her.
    "Usagi, I must ask something odd of you."
    "Wouldn't be the first time. What's on your mind?"
    "How old are you?"
    "Seventeen, why?"
    "Well, I am eighteen and my council believes
it is time I marry." He blushed a little.
    Is he proposing to me? Ohh...
    "But there are...complications. My childhood
was very lonely so I made up what the perfect girl
for me would be like. I decided that she had to be
the priestess of Suzaku...but the priestess is here
now, and she loves someone else. I know that I will
not marry her, but that still leaves my problem
unsolved. None of the other women around meet the
high standards I have set, and none are as beautiful
as I am....except you."
    "Hotohori..."
    "I know we do not know each other, and we do not
love each other either, but...I can't explain it, I
do not understand it myself, but I must have you
marry me. Please think about it. My council can have
us married by nightfall. You would be an empress..."
    He wants me to marry him? I'm only seventeen!
Usagi, think, you know by now you're in the past
and people got married way before they were your age
back then. You're like an old maid to them. And
Hotohori is really, really cute. Quit blushing, moron,
and think! Nothing is holding you back, not even
destiny. Do you like him?
    Yes.
    Are you attracted to him?
    Yes.
    Have you ever met anyone like him?
    No.
    So what's your answer?
    A feeling of peace and rightness settled over
Usagi, and she smiled, knowing what she would do.
    "Hotohori, I would be glad to marry you."
_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________
To be continued