Disclaimer: I didn't create Fushigi Yuugi, and I didn't create most of the characters in this story. I am simply a fan who loves the series enough to be inspired to write a fanfic about it.

This is a serious fanfic that contains some scenes that aren't suitable for younger readers. If it was a movie, it would be rated R. It also has spoilers from various episodes. Comments, critiques, & flames are welcome.

I'll be okay.....sure I will! Now what do I do? Miaka thought sarcastically.

Miaka looked around the room she found herself in. Her head hurt terribly, and her vision wavered; she didn't even want to try to get up yet.

"So, you're finally awake." a quiet voice said.

Miaka lifted her head and saw a young man chained to the far wall of the room.

"My name is Tatara. What's yours?"

"..........."

Miaka pulled herself to her hands and knees, and raised one hand up to her throat.

Oh. That's right. One of Seiryuu's seishi did something to me. My voice is gone. At least Nakago won't have the pleasure of hearing me scream when he decides to start torturing me again. No! Not again! Please! Someone help me, please!

"You're safe.....at least for now." Tatara said softly in response to the obvious signs of Miaka's terror.

Miaka was slowly calming herself down when the door opened to reveal Yui.

"Nakago told me you were here. He said that you wanted to tell me something. What is it?"

"........."

Miaka tried to speak again, but nothing came out. Her throat felt like it was on fire.

"Well? What is it?"

Miaka closed her eyes in despair.

If I could just tell her the truth, she might forgive me.....but can I forgive her for her part in this? She didn't even try to help me when Nakago was torturing me. She wanted him to! She watched him do it! Still.....no one deserves to believe that they were raped when they weren't. Not even Yui. But I can't tell her the truth.....I can't say anything!

"She can't speak." Tatara said quietly.

"Oh? That's too bad. I was just starting to want to talk to her again."

Hope rose in Miaka's mind, but it was quickly squashed by suspicion. Miaka stood slowly.

"I can't win, can I? We've been friends for a long time, and it seems silly to keep fighting like this."

Miaka smiled despite herself at this sign of the Yui who had been her best friend since kindergarten. Yui walked over to Tatara and released him from the chains. Tatara rubbed his wrists and looked at Miaka.

"You're Suzaku no Miko, aren't you?"

Miaka nodded.

"I'm one of Byakko's seishi. I hold the Shinzaho you're looking for."

Miaka's eyes widened. She ran over and gave Tatara a hug to express her joy. Tatara smiled fondly as Miaka's gesture reminded him of his own miko.

"We have to leave. Nakago could be here at any time." Yui warned.

Miaka and Tatera followed Yui down the corridor. They didn't get very far before Tatara began coughing and collapsed. Miaka ran to him. She knelt beside him and tried to make him as comfortable as she could. Her concern and desire to help showed clearly in her eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"I've been away from Byakko's temple too long. The spell that keeps my body young is failing, and I'm starting to age rapidly."

Miaka was confused, but her worry overrode everything else as she did her best to help her new friend.

"The Byakko seishi were active ninety years ago, Suzaku no Miko. I'm 115 now." Tatara said in response to the questions in Miaka's eyes.

Comprehension dawned in Miaka's eyes, and she nodded.

"Are you sure you should be carrying the Shinzaho? What if something happens to you? Maybe you should give it to Miaka now."

"Do you want the Shinzaho now?"

Miaka thought for a moment before shaking her head. She glanced at Yui, then turned back to Tatara with uncertainty in her eyes. That was all she could do to try to convey her lack of trust to Tatara. Tatara nodded slowly with understanding in his eyes.

"We can wait until you're ready."

Miaka smiled in relief, but Yui looked upset. Yui led them to a storage room.

"Wait here. I'll get some water for Tatara."

Yui left the room, and bolted the door behind her. Miaka heard the bolt fall into place; she jumped up and ran to the door, pounding on it with her fists in frustration while cursing herself silently for starting to trust her former friend. Tatara joined her a second later. Yui laughed.

"Did you really think I had forgiven you, Miaka? It's just too bad that I wasn't able to get the Shinzaho from you. You should have taken it when Tatara offered it to you. It would have been easier on both of you that way."

Fading footsteps told them that Yui was leaving them there. Miaka sank to the floor in defeat.

"I wondered why you didn't trust your friend. It seems you were right not to."

Miaka looked up at him and nodded dully. Tatara reached down and pulled Miaka to her feet gently.

"Don't worry. I may be old, but I still have some power left. I'll get us out of here."

Tatara summoned several vines from seeds hidden on his necklace. The vines grew rapidly, pushing their way through the cracks in the door. They twined themselves around the heavy piece of wood barring the door, and lifted it away, lowering it gently to the ground. Tatara opened the door a crack and peered out cautiously to see if the way was clear.

"It's safe. Let's go." he whispered.

Miaka followed Tatara through the maze of twisting corridors, amazed that he knew where they were going; she knew that she would have been hopelessly lost within minutes had she been alone. Tatara's abrupt stop and whisper of warning startled Miaka, and she was hard pressed to avoid crashing into him. She listened intently for signs of what caused Tatara to stop, and felt a chill of fear at the rapidly approaching footsteps. Tatara dropped into a defensive position, ready to defend himself and Miaka if it became necessary.

"Miaka? Miaka, is that you?" a voice whispered nervously from around the corner.

Tatara turned to Miaka with questioning eyes. Miaka smiled and nodded; it was Suboshi's voice. Tatara relaxed minutely.

"We're over here." he whispered softly.

Amiboshi and Suboshi came around the corner cautiously, clearly ready for a fight.

"Miaka, are you okay?" Amiboshi asked worriedly, while eyeing Tatara warily.

Tatara moved aside so that they could see Miaka's nod.

"What happened? We got worried when you didn't meet up with us. Did you get the Shinzaho?"

Miaka turned helplessly to Tatara, unsure of how to reassure her friends when she couldn't talk. Tatara placed a hand on her shoulder reassuringly before turning to the twins.

"My name is Tatara. I'm one of Byakko's seishi, and the holder of the Shinzaho. I don't know exactly what happened to Miaka, but she was captured and thrown into the same room they were keeping me in. Seiryuu no Miko made an attempt to get the Shinzaho by trying to trick Miaka into believing they were still friends. When it failed, she locked us up again, but she didn't chain me this time, so I was able to use my powers to free us."

"Soka. But why didn't Miaka answer me?"

"Please forgive my brother. My name is Amiboshi, and my twin is Suboshi. We are both Seiryuu seishi, but we don't serve Seiryuu anymore."

Tatara eyed the twins sharply at hearing that they were Seiryuu seishi, but a quick glance at Miaka showed that she trusted them; that was good enough for him. He smiled.

"It's understandable; you are worried about your friend. I answered for her because she cannot speak. One of the other Seiryuu seishi has the ability to block a person's voice among other things.....you did not know this?"

"No. I left Kutou-koku before all the Seiryuu seishi had been gathered, and none of the ones I met have that ability."

"I didn't know either, but the one who did it has to be Miboshi. He's a devious little man, and I don't think that even Nakago himself knows the extent of Miboshi's powers. How do we help her?" Suboshi asked, glancing at his friend worriedly.

"One of my friends is a healer of sorts. She should be able to help."

"I don't think a regular healer would be able to reverse the damage done by a seishi.....could they?"

"Probably not in this case at least, but my friend isn't a normal healer. She's one of Byakko's seishi."

Miaka tapped Tatara's arm urgently when she heard more footsteps behind them. When he looked down at her, she pointed in the direction of the footsteps and motioned for everyone to be quiet. Tatara nodded grimly and prepared for battle. The twins did the same, and everyone held their breaths until the footsteps faded away.

"I think it's safe now, but we must hurry." Tatara whispered.

Amiboshi glanced around nervously, flute in hand, while Suboshi silently took the lead and led the others towards the exit.

Miaka glanced uneasily in the direction they had come. They had escaped without any signs of pursuit, but she still half-expected Nakago or Yui to jump out from behind a bush and capture them. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't shake off a sense of impending doom. Miaka shook her head in disgust as she realized that she was terrified of Nakago and Yui now. Just thinking about them was enough to frighten her to the point of having to look around to make certain they weren't sneaking up on her. Miaka had serious doubts about her ability to control her fears if she ever had to face them again.

Miaka felt her baby kick, distracting her from her worries. She smiled to herself as she rested her hand on her bulging abdomen and wondered at the tiny life growing within her.

It won't be long now.....just six more weeks if I counted right. Will I be ready? I'm awfully young to be having a child.....but this little baby is counting on me. I have to be ready. Will I have a girl or a boy? What will I name my child? I haven't exactly spent much time picking out names.....and what would Keisuke and okaa-san think of all this?!

Waves of roiling nausea drove all other thoughts out of Miaka's head. She willed herself to be strong, but it was no use. Miaka groaned miserably as she ran over to the nearest bush, sank down to her knees, and gave in to the inevitable.

Suboshi and Tatara turned when they heard Miaka groan. Amiboshi was already at her side, rubbing her back and whispering soothingly to her. After a few moments, he looked up and exchanged an anxious glance with his brother.

"How far along is she?" Tatara asked in concern.

"Seven and a half months. It's way past the time for her to be having morning sickness.....I had hoped she was over the morning sickness when she didn't get sick during the sea voyage back from Genbu-koku. Now I wonder if she was still getting sick; it'd be just like her to try to hide her sickness to spare us worry. I don't like this. How far is your healer friend from here?" Amiboshi asked.

"Not far, and I don't like this either. My friend's house is just over the next hill. Come on, we need to get Miaka into bed as quickly as possible."

Amiboshi helped Miaka to her feet and supported her as they walked back to the others. Tatara took the lead once more, but this time he kept the group to a slow pace so Miaka wouldn't have to strain herself to keep up.

The grateful look he received when he looked back to check on her was all he needed to know that he was doing the right thing. Tatara could feel the spell that was keeping him young falling apart, but he ignored the pain and weakness that threatened to consume him; he was determined to get Miaka to safety before he collapsed.

Miaka felt a breeze on her back, and froze as an overwhelming feeling of danger washed over her. That was all the warning she had before the agony filled her mind. Miaka screamed silently and collapsed, struggling to remain conscious. Amiboshi was the first to react as he knelt beside Miaka. His flute was out, and his chi focused in seconds. He played a song that would stun anyone that had ill intentions towards them. Suboshi whirled around to face whatever threatened them, and saw red when he saw Tomo's feathers sticking out of Miaka's back. He activated his Ryuseisui and launched it as soon as he saw Tomo appear. Tatara followed suit and attacked with his vines. The combined attack caught the already stunned Tomo completely off guard. He died before he even had a chance to raise a shield around himself.

The feathers faded away, leaving no visible wounds on Miaka. Tatara ran over to Miaka, and sank to his knees, exhausted. Suboshi eyed him with concern as he reached the others.

"I don't understand. Miaka looks uninjured, but....." Tatara broke off what he was about to say as Miaka trembled in agony.

"The feathers were illusions.....very realistic illusions. Your friend is suffering from shock. That alone is enough to kill her."

Suboshi activated his Ryuseisui once more, and moved into a defensive position while Amiboshi readied his flute. Tatara motioned for them to relax.

"This is my friend Tokaki, one of the Byakko seishi." he said quickly. Suboshi and Amiboshi relaxed completely, putting away their weapons.

"Is this the healer you told us about?"

"My wife is the healer, but I can help nonetheless."

Tokaki knelt by Miaka's side and quickly struck three places on her back and neck in rapid succession. Suboshi looked ready to protest, but he said nothing.

"Those are pressure points. I used them to free her from the shock and pain caused by the illusions."

"Arigato." Amiboshi and Suboshi said in relief.

Tokaki smiled as he stood. He picked Miaka up gently.

"She needs to rest."

The others quickly followed Tokaki to his house. Once there, Tokaki put Miaka in bed and moved out of the way so his wife could see to her. Tokaki turned to examine his friend. One look at Tatera's pinched, gray face had him forcing Tatera into bed as well.

"You've been away from the temple too long, my friend." he said softly, worriedly.

Tatara pulled a tiny seed from his necklace and focused his chi on it. A beautiful flower grew quickly and bloomed to reveal the Shinzaho. Tatara touched the mirror tenderly. He closed his eyes, remembering. After a few moments, he gave the Shinzaho to Tokaki.

"Give this to Miaka when she is well. She has more than earned it."

"Then....." Tokaki whispered, grief shining in his eyes.

"I'll be with Suzuno soon."

"Who's Suzuno?"

Amiboshi and Suboshi whirled around at the sound of Miaka's voice.

"A nasty piece of work, that silencing spell. If you had come to me even a day later, I wouldn't have been able to help her."

"Then I'm glad we arrived when we did. My name's Suboshi, and that's my aniki, Amiboshi. The girl you helped is Miaka, Suzaku's miko. Is there anything we can do to repay you....?"

"Iie. My reward was seeing her eyes light up when she got her voice back. But if I may have a word with you, Suboshi.....alone?"

"Hai, of course."

"Subaru, you forgot to introduce yourself." Tokaki chided gently.

"Oh! Gomen nasai." Subaru said, flustered.

"That's my Subaru for you, always forgetting everything else when a patient needs her." Tokaki said teasingly.

Subaru blushed. When she recovered from her embarrassment, she led Suboshi into the next room.

"Surely, you have seen that her pregnancy is not going well?"

"Hai. What's wrong? She won't lose the child, will she?"

"Iie, not if she stays in bed until she gives birth. Otherwise, both she and the twins will die." Subaru said gravely.

"Twins?!"

"You didn't know?" Suboshi shook his head.

"Is that why she's been so sick?"

"Partly, but she's also been under a lot of stress lately. To be honest, I'm suprised she hasn't miscarried. Tell me.....are you the father?"

"Hai."

"Miaka must be a very forgiving person to allow the man who raped her to stay so close to her. I'm not so forgiving. Were it not for the fact that the wards one of my fellow seishi set up on this house allowed you to enter, I would throw you out. Yours must be an interesting story, but whatever else you are, you are not evil.....or at least you aren't anymore. An evil person would not have been able to pass through the wards."

Suboshi winced under Subaru's stern gaze.

"We live only a few hours walk from here. I'll be sure that Miaka stays in bed after that."

"The twins will not survive even a short journey like that. You will stay here until she has recovered from birthing her twins."

"Demo....."

"That is not an offer, it is an order. You will stay here even if I have to tie you all to the furniture to keep you here." Subaru's voice was stern, but there was a twinkle in her eyes.

"Arigato gozaimas."

Subaru and Suboshi rejoined the others just in time to hear Tatara finish telling Miaka about the Byakko no Miko, Suzuno, and his love for her. Miaka brushed a few tears away at the thought of the long separation the two lovers had had to endure. She glanced over at her dying friend.

A rattled, labored breath brought Miaka back to the present. Miaka looked over at Tatara with an expression that was both happy and sad at the same time.

"Suzuno? I'm coming, Suzuno. Please wait for me....." Tatara whispered.

Tatara's last breath was a sigh as he closed his eyes forever. He was smiling.

"He's with Suzuno now, I know it. They both can finally be at peace." Miaka whispered.

Subaru and Tokaki held each other, both crying for their friend, and for themselves.

"Do you have any knowledge of the Shijentenchisho?" a quiet voice asked.

Keisuke and Tetsuya whirled around to see who had spoken. A tall, bald man stood watching them from the doorway with mild amusement in his eyes.

"How do you know about the Shijentenchisho?!" Keisuke demanded.

"My grandfather's friend claims to have been the book before when she was younger. She told me to come here and see if there was anyone who knew about the book; if so, I'm to bring them to her. It all sounds like a child's fable to me, but who am I to refuse to grant a dying woman's last wish?"

"You said you know someone who's been in the book?" Keisuke asked eagerly.

"She said she was the Byakko no Miko."

"Soka. My imouto is the Suzaku no Miko."

"Will you come with me?"

"Hai."

"Suzuno-san? I brought them. These two have the Shijentenchisho."

Keisuke and Tetsuya knelt by the old woman. She opened her eyes and smiled.

"You should be proud of your imouto." she whispered weakly.

"Hai. I am." Keisuke replied.

The old woman nodded. After a moment, she closed her eyes. Her chest rose once more, and she was still. A cold breeze entered the room. Keisuke turned to shut the screen door, but the ghostly image of a man standing outside made him freeze in his place.

"Tetsuya....." he whispered hoarsely.

"Nani?" Tetsuya asked as he turned around.

Tetsuya's eyes widened when he saw what Keisuke had seen. The ghost didn't move; he simply stood and smiled, as if he was waiting for something. Tetsuya heard a gasp behind him, and spun around to see what had caused it. He took a step back, his eyes widening even further when he saw the spirit of a young girl hovering behind the old woman's body.

"Tatara."

The soft voice made Keisuke whirl around. He froze in place once more, looking back and forth between the two ghosts.

"Suzuno."

Keisuke watched while Suzuno floated out the door and into Tatara's arms. Without knowing how he knew, he realized that Tatara was one of Byakko's seishi, and that love for Suzuno had brought him here. Tears filled Keisuke's eyes.

"Matte!" he cried as the two spirits began to fade away.

"Is this what my imouto has to look forward to?! A life alone, waiting for death so that she can be reunited with the man she loves?! Is there no way she and Hotohori can be together in either of our worlds?" he asked brokenly.

The two spirits looked at Keisuke silently. Tatara gave him a small, sad smile and shook his head before they faded away completely. Keisuke sank to his knees and cried softly in despair for his sister.

"Keisuke....." Tetsuya whispered, tears filling his own eyes as he placed a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder.

Keisuke wants them to be together. He doesn't even care which world they live in as long as they can be together. I have to tell him the truth; Miaka and Hotohori can never be together in this lifetime. Miaka's been through so much, and I have the sinking feeling that she'll suffer even more before this is over.....but at least I know now that Hotohori will be there for her when she dies. I have to tell Keisuke.....but how? He's so upset now, and what I have to tell him will only make things worse. Maybe this isn't the best time to tell him.....I'll tell him later.

"I never knew. All this time.....Suzuno-san was waiting for Tatara all this time, and I didn't see it. I didn't believe her. I thought that none of it was real.....it was just the imaginings of an old woman....."

"It is real." Tetsuya told Suzuno's grandson.

"It's very real, and there's no more guarantee of a happy ending in that world than there is in this one....."

"I know that now. I just wish I realized that sooner. Maybe I could have helped her somehow."

"Miaka's in that world. If there's no way for her to be with Hotohori, then I want her to come home. At least that way, I can be here for her....."

"I'll help you. I don't know what I can do, but I'll do anything I can to get your imouto back."

Keisuke looked up dully, pain and anguish clearly showing in his eyes.

"Arigato."

Subaru woke abruptly and lay silently, trying to figure out what woke her. After a moment, she heard a low moan of pain, and knew instantly what it meant.

i>

Subaru sighed as she got up. Tokaki stirred in his sleep, and opened his eyes.

"Nani.....?" he murmured sleepily.

"Gomen ne, Tokaki. I didn't mean to wake you, but Miaka's in labor. You can go back to sleep if you want."

"Iie. I think I'll go keep Amiboshi and Suboshi calm and out of your way."

Subaru smiled.

"Arigato."

"Don't mention it. None of the other mikos that came to this world ever bore a child here. I'm looking forward to seeing her twins. I just wish Tatara could have seen them too. I know he would have wanted to."

"Maybe he will. It would be just like Tatara and Suzuno to come witness this, and offer their protection while Miaka gives birth."

"Yes, it would be."

"Still, visiting spirits or no, I have work to do."

Subaru quickly gathered everything she'd need, and hurried from the room. Tokaki was right behind her. He snagged Amiboshi and Suboshi just as they were about to enter Miaka's room, and dragged them back out into the family room.

"Now boys, you know a birthing room is no place for us men. We'd only get in the way. My wife knows what she's doing. Miaka's in good hands, and she'll be fine." he said firmly.

Miaka stared at her twins in awe, rubbing their backs gently as they fed. All her pain and exhaustion was long since forgotten.

"What will you name them?" Subaru asked with a smile.

"Taka and Rei."

"Those are beautiful names for beautiful babies."

"Arigato."

"Now, you need your rest, and I need to tell the others that you and the twins are safe."

Subaru gently took the twins from Miaka when they had finished feeding, and walked out into the family room. She smiled at the relieved and harried look her husband gave her.

"Are Miaka and the twins okay?!" Suboshi and Amiboshi cried, jumping up.

"Hai. Miaka's resting, and I have the twins here. Would you like to hold them?"

Subaru smiled when Suboshi nodded, clearly not trusting himself to speak. She showed the proud father how to hold an infant, and put Taka in his arms.

"May I hold my niece? Don't worry, I know how to hold babies."

"Of course you may. Her name is Rei, and she's the younger of the two by nine minutes. Suboshi is holding Taka." Subaru said as she gave Rei to Amiboshi.

"See? I told you two that everyone would be fine, didn't I?" Tokaki laughed.

"May we see Miaka?" Amiboshi asked.

"Hai, but only for a little while. She needs her rest."

Amiboshi and Suboshi entered Miaka's room and crowded around her bed. Tokaki stood in the doorway with his wife, content to watch from a distance. v"How are you feeling? Are you in any pain?"

"A little, but I'm mostly just tired. Taka and Rei are beautiful, aren't they?"

"Yes they are. They look just like you."

"They have your eyes, Suboshi."

"I just hope they take after you personality-wise, Miaka. One person like my brother is hard enough to handle." Amiboshi said jokingly.

Suboshi elbowed his twin in the ribs, but he was grinning as he did so. Miaka smiled at their antics.

"Let's let Miaka rest now. You can see her again later." Subaru said when she noticed Miaka trying to force herself to stay awake.

Amiboshi and Suboshi were reluctant to leave, but Tokaki grabbed their shoulders and steered them out of the room.