Fushigi Yuugi OC AU/Rewrite

Chapter 4. Missing Care

"The Priestess of Suzaku's leg was tended to by Tamahome, but her scattered thoughts gave her no peace."

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As I watched Tamahome rebandage my leg, I couldn't help but feel a bit guilty. "Wouldn't Nuriko get upset if she saw you doing this? I feel like I'm doing something wrong..." I said solemnly. The last thing I wanted was for Nuriko to misunderstand the situation and my relationship with Tamahome. He stopped for a moment and looked up at me. "What is it?" I thought for a moment and decided to ask directly. "Tamahome, are you in love with Nuriko?" He shook his head. "How could I be? I just met her and besides, she's not my type at all." "I see." I wandered off into thought. 'His type? What does that even mean? I really don't understand this stuff.' I sighed and suddenly Tamahome stood up and began to laugh.

He walked over and place his foot on the railing, leaning his arm against his knee like he was striking a pose. "Oh I get it. You're jealous of her, come on admit it." My eyes widened at his words before quickly narrowing in confusion. Where the hell did he get that idea from? Was he just joking? He had to be. "This happens to me all the time. The ladies love me for my charm, class, and good looks too I'm sure. But I'm not interested. I'm sorry, I'm looking for money not for love." He busted out laughing afterwards and I rolled my eyes. "Yeah right, class? Charm? You sure you aren't talking about someone else there, Tamahome?" I quipped back at him and after a moment of silence, we both burst out into laughter.

I covered my mouth to try and keep my giggles in but I couldn't help it. It seemed that we were on the same page, this was our relationship. He annoyed the crap out of me like an older brother, but also protected me like one. I would bite back at him like a younger sister, but I also worried about him when he got hurt like one. This made me... happy. Very happy. I took a deep breath to calm my laughter and smiled a bit. "I haven't laughed like that in... a very long time. Thank you, Tamahome." He smiled at me and gently patted my head. "No problem."

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However as the two shared a moment of mutual understanding, Nuriko watched them from behind a pillar with a deep scowl on her face.

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I was walking around the walkways to my chamber at night when I saw Nuriko standing there, gazing at something in her hand. "Is something wrong, Nuriko?" I decided to approach her as she seemed genuinely troubled by something. "Oh, Ice... Well I was walking around the pond by the east side pavilion and I seemed to have lost the mate to this precious pearl ear ring..." I came closer to see it and it was indeed beautiful. "Wow..." "It's yakoju, a family heirloom. My mother gave them to me when I was ordered to enter the harem. It's always been my favorite... It glows in the dark so the best time to look for it would be in the evening, or at night. But none of the maids will go out, because they're afraid of the dark I guess."

I thought for a moment before nodding at her. "I'll help you. I'm not afraid to go out and look." She turned to me and looked surprised. "Oh really?!" I nodded even more. "It's the family heirloom you treasure so much, right? Okay then, it has to be found. Don't worry, I'll get it back to you, Nuriko." I declared confidently, finally feeling like I could do something to actually make her happy. She smiled at me. "In that case, in order to repay your generosity, allow me to serve you as Nuriko of the Suzaku Seven." My eyes lit up. "That would be great!" I did it! I finally made some progress with her! "Wait right here, I promise I'll find it for you." I stated before running off to the east side pavilion. "Thank you, I'll be right here waiting!"

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"What is it?" Hotohori turned to face his advisers as they had a meeting under the pavilion. "Well, you are eighteen, Sire. And the time has long since come for you to choose an empress, has it not entered your mind?" "We went through all the time and trouble to collect the most beautiful woman from all across the empire. Explain it to us, Sire. Why do you completely ignore the woman in your harem?" Hotohori sat in thought for a moment before answering. "Because I am much more beautiful than they are." There was complete silence before he spoke again. "I was joking." After he said this the advisers began laughing at his 'joke.' "What concerns me now is the empire and it's people, an Empress can wait until later."