After the Rain
a Fushigi Yuugi story
by Magic Toes 11
Remember, after the fire,
After all the rain,
I will be the flame.
~ Cheap TrickTasuki had been awake for hours, his normally temperamental anger forcibly suppressed to a slow burn. The girl, Miaka, had run off again, too blinded by her love to even care about those she left behind. It pissed him off that Miaka could still love that ogre Tamahome, even after he'd so badly broken her heart. Even after he'dso brutally beaten someone who was supposed to have been his ally.
Tasuki supposed he might have been asking for it, taking on Tamahome the way he did -- the broken ribs, the shattered cheekbone, the righteye so swollen it had to be bound tightly so he wouldn't lose his eyesight completely. But in no way did Miaka deserve to be hurt so badly that she could only think of suicide as a way out. In no way did she deserve to love that man, that ogre, Tamahome. It was worth it to know that he'd landed some bruising punches of his own.
But he'd already been awake far too long from the pain of the injuries he'd sustained in Kutou... And he had been almost ready to drift off again, the patter of the rain upon the roof starting to lull him to sleep, when a series of voices filtered past his window, jerking him into full consciousness. The emperor Hotohori, the geisha Nuriko, Chichiri, Chiriko... All sounding frantic as they rushed by...Something about Miaka, the rain, and a river so swollen that the current could sweep away even the strongest of men.
It pissed him off all the more that he couldn't even stand on his owntwo feet long enough to help.
And so, Tasuki could only lie back in dull anger, unable to move, unable to rise to the call of Hotohori's voice on the wind as he cried out for help for Miaka, their priestess of Suzaku.
He thought he might have to wait until morning for any sort of news, though, when someone -- Chichiri, or their healer Mitsukake - would even bother to check on him. So when the door slammed open, blown fast by the storm's wind, Tasuki couldn't contain his surprise at the shadowed figure that appeared in the doorway.
The figure paused at the entrance, slipping off shoes and a straw hat and shaking away the pelting rain from soaked clothing. Silhouetted for a moment against the lightning that struck, whoever it was took two steps into the room before turning suddenly, shoulders jerking in a sharp, half-stifled sneeze. "Heh-ksshuu!"
Tasuki sat up quickly and immediately wished he hadn't done so - his lungs seared in hot pain from his broken ribs, and the too-sudden movement made his head spin dizzily. "Who the hell's there?" he demanded, forcing out a sharp tone in spite of the pain.
The cloaked figure turned back towards Tasuki, fingertips at his chin, and another, closer bolt of lightning flickered, revealing a rain-soaked Chichiri -- limp hair dangling in his face as he adjusted the strange, forever-grinning mask upon his face. "You're awake! Welcome back, Tasuki-kun, na no da!" he laughed in that high-pitched, though slightly nasal, voice of his.
"Jeez... Chichiri," muttered Tasuki as he slid back down to rest his head against his pillow. "Give a guy a heart attack, why don't you?"
Chichiri laughed brightly, too brightly for someone who looked as ifhe'd been nearly drowned in the rain. "I didn't think Tasuki-kun'sheart was that weak, na no da!"
Tasuki grumbled, leveling a hard glare upon the rain-soaked mystic ashe pulled up a stool beside the bed and sat down. "Well, even if it was, whose fault would that be? What's that girl doing anyway, running off like that after all we went through to get her home?"
"You mean Miaka-chan? She's okay now, na no da. She fell into the river, but Hotohori-sama dove in and saved her, no da!" As Chichiri spoke, he magically lit one of the candles at Tasuki's bedside, illuminating the strange, grinning mask that covered his face.
As always, Tasuki bristled slightly at the mystic's repeated use of that meaningless catch-phrase, but he said nothing. There were worse, darker things on his mind, like the memory of Nuriko rushing pastoutside his window, calling for the emperor... shouting something about a suicide note... "Fell in?" he muttered suspiciously.
Chichiri shrugged, silent for a moment. "Well, maybe not exactly 'fell,' na no da. It doesn't matter, though! Miaka-chan is safe. And something tells me that by the time she wakes up she'll have learnedher lesson, no da."
"Hmph. Whatever." Tasuki turned to stare up at the ceiling, feeling,for all his anger, very suddenly morose. "Ne, Chichiri, why'd she do it, anyway?" he asked in a quieter tone.
Chichiri adjusted his damp cloak and brought a knuckle to the side of his nose, rubbing against the fitted mask. "It's a long story, na no da," he said, his own voice much more subdued. "Love makes people docrazy things sometimes."
"She doesn't still love /him/, does she?" Tasuki spat. His chest ached with each word, a recollection of each rib-breaking hit landed by that jerk Tamahome. And Tamahome was supposed to be on /their/ side? No, no one who would deliberately hurt his friends would ever be an ally ofhis...
"She does. It wasn't always like this, Tasuki-kun. Tamahome had once been a very nice person, na no da! That wasn't Tamahome that we fought-- this Tamahome had a different sort of life force than our Tamahome, if you know what I mean, na no da..." Chichiri prattled on rapidly.
"What the hell are you talking about? Make some goddamn sense,already!" Tasuki growled impatiently.
"I could feel a different life force flowing through this Tamahome. It's as if he was under a spell, na no da! There was something diff--anh..." With a sudden jerk, Chichiri spun away from the bed, turninghis back to Tasuki as he slid both hands up beneath the mask to keephis face hidden. "Heh-kshiuu! Khh-shuu!"
Tasuki sat up straighter, frowning as he watched the mystic sneeze. "Oh, great, you've gone and caught yourself a damn cold from being outin the rain, haven't you?"
"I'm fine..." Chichiri murmured, one hand pressed to the left side ofhis face, the other rubbing the edge of his nose. "Just a small sniffle, na no da."
"Doesn't sound small to me. Why ain't you resting?" Tasuki settled back against his pillows.
"The same reason you're not, no da! You're worried about Miaka-chan!" Chichiri let out one last sniffle and adjusted his mask before turning back to face the former bandit.
"I'm not!" Tasuki snarled, starting to push himself up against hiselbows. But something in his chest flared, cutting his breath short, and he fell back almost instantly, breathing hard in an effort to stave off tears of pain. Inwardly cursing himself for his weakness,Tasuki hated being this helpless... and this pissed off.
"Don't deny it, na no da! Tasuki-kun needs to accept the fact that he's worried, or else he'll hurt himself again!" Chichiri exclaimed in a high-pitched, sing-song voice.
"Shut up!" Tasuki growled. "Why are you even here anyway?"
Chichiri almost seemed to blink -- or Tasuki imagined he would have, had he been able to see his face. "I had to let you know about Miaka-chan. Because you might have been worrying, but I can see that you're not, na no da!"
"Gah. I ain't worried! Especially not over some girl. Go away," Tasukimuttered. "Shut up," he added, for good measure.
And Chichiri did, although he made no move to stand and go away, asthe former bandit had demanded. Beneath the flicker of candlelight, the mask that obscured Chichiri's true face almost seemed to glow in an ever-present grin. To Tasuki, it was creepy -- too creepy. And he certainly wasn't the type to be easily disturbed by anything.
"Ne, Chichiri?" muttered Tasuki.
"Da?" Chichiri rolled his head around to face the bandit, unblinking and expressionless behind the mask.
"Why don't you take that thing off already?"
"What do you mean?" The mystic sounded momentarily confused, before he realized with a start what Tasuki was talking about. He touched his fingers to his chin, where the edge of the mask met skin. Tasuki couldn't see it, but he could almost imagine the wry grin on Chichiri's face behind the front. "Oh, this, na no da? I don't see any need to take it off, so I usually don't."
Tasuki shifted uncomfortably, the bandages wrapped so tightly around his chest threatening to suffocate. "Look, if you ain't feeling well, you shouldn't bother with it. It's gotta be hot, or something."
"I'm used to it being hot. I don't even notice most of the time, na no da!" Chichiri said cheerfully -- altogether too cheerfully.
Tasuki growled low in frustration. "I don't give a damn. You're sick. Whatever it is you're hiding ain't going to bother me, you know."
Chichiri hesitated, fingertips again brushing at the thin edge of the mask. With a tired sigh, he murmured, "Are you absolutely sure, na no da?"
"Take it off already, no da," Tasuki growled, the last two words mocking.
With the slightest of nods, Chichiri turned and lowered his head, palm extending across his face as he crumpled the mask in his fingertips. At first, Tasuki could only see the mystic in profile -- his right eye closed and the faintest hint of a scar spreading across the bridge ofhis nose. But as Chichiri turned towards him, the thin scar seemed to grow, spreading extensively across the left side of face, permanently closing the left eye. To Tasuki, it seemed as if a very large animalhad gouged out a large portion of Chichiri's face with a single swipe.
But, in spite of the scars across his face, there was still a genuine warmth in the single eye that gazed back at Tasuki, a handsomeness that could not be completely obscured beneath the scarring. And as his true face was revealed, Tasuki could see that, while far from morose, Chichiri's normal exuberance was dampened quite a bit.
/So this is his true face... It's beautiful./
When Tasuki finally found his voice to speak, he murmured simply, "There. That's gotta be better... neh?"
The scars across the left side of Chichiri's face seemed to diminish as he smiled -- the first real smile Tasuki had ever seen from him. "It does. Quite a lot, no da." Without the mask to hide behind, Chichiri's voice was softer, slightly more subdued. "Thanks."
"For what?"
"For not minding. Sometimes... people are scared of the way I look, nano da. I wouldn't want you to be upset."
Tasuki snorted, head falling back against his pillow. "That shouldn't be your problem. Who gives a damn what other people think?"
"It isn't that simple, no da," said Chichiri with a smile. "It's better that I don't make people uncomfortable. And wearing a mask isn't all that bad, na no dah... hh... Heh-kksshu! Eh.. Hehk-shiuu!Oh!" Chichiri turned to the side, his good eye closing wearily.
Tasuki could see the dark circles in the hollows of his eyes, and it only served to deepen his already grouchy mood. "Ne, Chichiri, can I be frank with you?"
"Only if I can be Chichiri with you, no da!" the mystic exclaimed, forcing a tone of happiness to his voice.
"Argh, you know what I mean!" Tasuki said impatiently. "You look terrible. And no, I don't mean the scars. I mean you look tired. How long's it been since you even slept?"
Chichiri pressed a fingertip to his chin, his good eye tilting up to the ceiling in contemplation. "That's a good question, no da! I'd sayquite some time. I've seen the moon at least twice since we set out toKutou."
Tasuki leveled a glare at his companion from behind the bandages that partly obscured his own face. "And you ain't slept at all during that time?"
With a laugh, Chichiri pressed his hand to the back of his neck. "I've had time to meditate, no da," he admitted sheepishly.
"That ain't the same!"
The mystic grinned, about to say something cheerful, when he paused,breath catching in his throat. He raised a hand quickly to his face as he turned to sneeze. "Hh-kissh! Cchhssh! Oh," he gasped. "I guess you're right, Tasuki-kun. I am tired. Very tired, na no da."
"You've pushed yourself way too damn hard, you know," said Tasuki grouchily. It had been Chichiri who'd saved them in Kutou, suppressing his chi with all his will to keep that creep Nakago from finding and hurting Miaka. And Chichiri had overlapped his will into that of Mitsukake's cat, in order to break the Seiryu barrier around Kutou. Itmust have taken so much out of him to do so... Perhaps just as much as it had taken Tasuki to stand, in spite of his broken ribs, and keep fighting Tamahome, when all hope had seemed lost...
"I had no choice, no da." Chichiri smiled faintly, rubbing the side of his nose with a knuckle. "Miaka-chan might be a fool, but she's learning. And who am I to stand in the way of such foolish love...neh?" His fingertips rose, almost nervously, to spread across the left side of his face.
"Ne, Chichiri?" Tasuki asked, brow raising as he watched the mystic trace the lines of the scarring that permanently closed his left eye. "How long have you had that scar?"
Chichiri shrugged, smiling lightly. "About six years now, give or take. Time's been much less important to me since then, no da."
Tasuki nodded. "Must have been a hell of a challenge, getting your vision back. I'm nauseous enough as it is trying to focus with this." He rubbed at the bandages that covered his own eye -- the right one --which was too swollen to see anyway, even without the heavy dressings.
"Don't try to focus then, na no da! There's nothing you need to see!" Chichiri laughed. "And no, it wasn't easy. But I had so much more to worry about than my eye, back when I lost it."
"Like...?"
"Like finding just the right mask to cover it up, na no da!" Grinningbrightly, Chichiri's voice rose to the high pitch he normally used when hiding behind the smiling mask.
Tasuki blinked in surprise before he exclaimed angrily, "You can't beserious!"
The brilliant grin faded from Chichiri's face, and he rubbed absentlyat the side of his nose. "I'm not. But we can call it wishful thinking, no da?"
"You ain't going to tell me, monk, are you?"
Chichiri lifted a brow curiously. "Do you really want to know?"
Tasuki merely smirked, waving a hand dismissively. "Nah, nah. Forget it. You'll tell me when you're good'n ready, I'm sure."
"Of course, no da," said Chichiri quietly, a genuine smile spreading across his face.
Tasuki grinned back toothily. "Good. Now get lost already. I'm tired,and you're keepin' me from sleep!"
Chichiri nodded, rising and unfurling the crumpled mask in his handsbefore securing it once more upon his face. "Rest well, Tasuki-kun. And don't be worrying about anyone but yourself, na no da. Somethingtells me we're going to need your strength very soon, so get well."
"Same to you. And don't worry. I'll be back on my feet before you know it!"
And as Chichiri went to the door to slip into his shoes, he laughed aloud, placing his hat upon his head. "Daijoubu, na no da! Ha ha!" he exclaimed brightly, and used the remaining reserves of his magic to disappear from sight.
"Fool," Tasuki muttered aloud. "Couldn't even use the damned door."
But at the same time, he smiled, knowing that he wasn't alone in his concern for Miaka, and that even someone as seemingly unreachable as Chichiri could be reached. Throughout the whole ordeal, from Kutou to the palace to the river, he'd managed to make an ally for life. And that thought alone stilled his dark thoughts as his breathing evened out, and he slipped into a contented, pain-free sleep for the first time in days.
For those familiar with the series, this takes place in the middle of episode 21. Chichiri, Tasuki, and Miaka have returned unsuccessful in their journey to Kutou to bring Tamahome back to Konan. Tamahome, turned 'evil' under Nakago's spell, has broken Miaka's heart and has beaten Tasuki within an inch of his life. Upon returning to Konan, Miaka attempted to drown herself in the rain-swollen river, but Hotohori, Chichiri, 'Chiriko,' and Nuriko came to her rescue.