Quick Login

[Tasuki]

School wasn't even done for the day. Tasuki had taken the chance when he walked away from Nuriko, Ryuzaki and Haruhi to slip off the school grounds and go into the town. From one spot to another he ducked, peering around corners and from behind people, brown eyes shifting from side to side. He didn't need to get caught, not that he really cared if he did. Finally far enough away from the school, Tasuki walked along the side walk and stretched his arms over his head.

Fiery hair seemed to glow in the sunlight while the rays caught off the beads of his necklaces, as well as the beads from his earrings. He inhaled the fresh, crisp air and sighed softly. He hated the campus, but hey, he had to go. With a glance to the left and right Tasuki crossed the street and dipped into the Sweet Shack. He had a massive craving for something sweet, though he wasn't quite sure what it was yet. When he stepped inside the scent of the fresh baked goodies and the sugar in the air hit him and a dreamy gaze formed in his eyes for a moment. What exactly was he after?

Lips pursed, he leaned over with one hand resting on one of the cases that housed the baked goods and peered through the glass. Cookies, sweet buns and various other things laid inside, just waiting to be bought, begging to be eaten. He almost drooled; They looked and smelled so good. However in the corner of his eye he saw movement. A girl with brown hair pulled into dumpling shaped ponytails at the sides of her head. His heart stopped before it beat rapidly. She looked familiar, but he couldn't place her. He blinked and then shook his head; She was a girl, and he didn't need a girl hanging around him. Tasuki returned his gaze to the case. Maybe some cookies and ice cream?

[Miaka]

Miaka sat in one of her most favorite places near the school. The Sweet Shack. Then again, who couldn't resist a sweet treat now and then? After all food being her favorite, anything she could shove into her mouth and cure her stomach of its ravenous cravings all the time was most likely to make her happiest.

She drooled over the icecream cone that she quickly consumed, licking her fingers as it melted away. Swinging her legs happily she was too busy.. almost having fun.. eating her ice cream that she was unaware of any other person or thing around her. Plus she was consumed within her thoughts of school and absolutely dreading her other classes. Why did she have to go? No. Why did they have to study and study and study and take all those dumb tests!

Miaka sat glowering at her cone then, almost forgetting to eat it, raging over stupid school and how much she wished she could just hang out with good friends all the time and do fun stuff like shopping, or a movie.. instead of hurting her brain after staring at the same math problem for 20 minutes.
It wasn't til the ice cream was flowing over her fingers and dripping to the table that she snapped to and frantically began eating at it again. It was messy, sticky, and she waisting precious food. How cruel. Frustrated, she cleaned off the table, along with her fingers, and finished the cone with a contempt satisfaction.

When she stood to leave she caught sight of a boy with rather obvious flaming red hair. After a moment of curious staring, she finally took her eyes of his hair and figure to notice he was looking at her. She quickly turned away, rather embarassed, her cheeks turning nearly the shade of his hair color. When she dared a glance at him again, he was turned, his back towards her. What was he looking at? The flutter in her stomach caught her attention and she tilted her head curiously to the side and stared some more. Then thinking it over she quickly began to assess herself and her outfit. Was she covered in icecream? Was there something in her teeth?

[Tasuki]

Feeling eyes on him, Tasuki turned his head ever so slightly to peer over his shoulder. It was that girl he'd seen. Why the hell was she staring at him?! It wasn't like his fangs were showing at that moment! Standing up, he pointed out a few cookies that he wanted and ordered a large vanilla sundae with hot fudge and melted peanut butter. Withdrawing some of his cash, he slid the money across the counter and stood there, waiting. He glanced once more at the girl, who was still staring at him. "Why the hell are you staring at me?!" he nearly shouted, but his voice was low despite the faint hostility in it.

Reaching out, he snatched up the plate of cookies and the sundae as it was brought to the counter, then promptly turned and walked over to a chair. With a "hmph" he sat down and set his food on the table. With one bite of the ice cream he sighed, the hostility in his voice and on his face melting away as he swallowed. He simply adored the chocolate and peanut butter combination! He grabbed a cookie from the plate and took a bite ofi t, then of the ice cream and chewed. Brown eyes lifted and he stared at the girl, looking her over. Well, she wasn't exactly what one would call drop dead gorgeous, but there was something cute about her.

With scrutinizing eyes he watched her, alternating between eating his cookies and ice cream. What was it about her that looked familiar? The green eyes, the brown hair, the soft looking skin.. Shaking his head quickly to clear the thoughts from his head that were trying to intrude, he started eating faster. The downfall to that, though, was the fact that he soon had brain freeze and groaned, his hands moving to rub his face and forehead. "Owwwwwww," he whined.

[Miaka]

Miaka flinched at his remark and merely huffed, turning her back on him and crossing her arms over her chest. Ouch. That was way rude! He didn't have to be like that! Creep! She was just curious. Extremely. She couldn't figure it out but she swore she had seen someone like him before. His red hair definitly would catch anyones attention, but while he was eating away she had a glimpse of two pointy little fangs poking out from his set of white gleaming teeth. With that she only took another glance or two back at him. If he was going to be like that.. still..

Again she caught him staring at her. His big brown eyes seemed to show that he wasn't really as harsh as he seemed. She felt her cheeks burning again and sighed. He was cute. Of course. But she most likely wasn't anything he would be looking for.
Now that she thought of it.. she couldn't figure out why she was soo worried when the attitude he had given her made her think he wasn't really interested in anyone. Anyone but himself it seemed. Maybe? She shook her head at herself and sighed slightly just in time to hear her stomach grumble annoyingly. Not really having ate much that day, she figured one more ice cream couldn't hurt. And the cookie he had looked pretty good too.

By the time she had purchased her ice cream and cookie, she got excited again and went to sit back down as before, nibbling away at her cookie, taking a few bits of ice cream (from a dish now) and off in thought.

[Tasuki]

After a few minutes the brain freeze wore off and he returned to eating his food again, this time slower so as not to feel that pain again. With his head in one hand, he carefully ate his ice cream, eyes closed as if in deep thought. Ever since he'd awakened several nights before it felt as if he had forgotten something so very important and, to top things off, he felt more drawn to star gazing and he always searched the sky for the same seven constellations. With the spoon hanging out of his mouth his eyebrows knitted together. The Chinese constellation for "wings" was one of the few that seemed to stick out in his mind. Why?

His eyes opened and he found himself watching the girl - again. What the hell was it about her?! The urge to talk to her struck him and before he could resist he found himself standing, gathering his food and moving over to her. Clearing his throat, he motioned with his head toward the chair. "Mind if I sit there?" he asked and then sat down without waiting for an answer. Setting his sweets down, he took a bite of his ice cream and looked at her, studying her. "Sorry I bit your head off but it's a reaction whenever I see girls staring at me."

Tasuki tilted his head as he watched her eat her ice cream. She was familiar, too familiar, but he couldn't place her. He just had to figure out why. "Have we met before? You seem familiar to me some how."

[Miaka]

Miaka stared, blinking many times, stunned when Tasuki came and joined her. It also startled her out of her wonderful daydream she was having of food. "Oh.. uh.." Was all she could force. Taking a deep breath, she went back to acting as normal as possible.

She easily accepted his apology and nodded with a smile. Unnoticingly, she began to play with her icecream, mixing it up in the dish, her cookie was gone. Something about him sitting so close to her was making her feel rather comfortable. In which scared her considering she had never met this guy in her entire existence, that she could remember anyway. It was as if they had known eachother a long time and were having a casual, normal conversation.

Looking up at him curiously, she finally took a big bite out of her ice cream then slowly considered his question. So.. he thought so too. How strange? "Uh.. I don't think so. But I'm having the oddest sense that we might have met before. There is something familiar about you too."

[Tasuki]

"Well, at least I'm not a total nutcase," he muttered and took a few more bites of his ice cream. Brown eyes watched her and he slid one of his uneaten cookies over to her. "If you play with your food it's just going to melt. What's the sense in ice cream soup?" With that he finished his ice cream and slipped away, returning the dish to the counter. Moments later he returned with a milkshake and another plate of cookies. At least he could share when he wanted to.

Setting the plate between the two of them, Tasuki took a long drink from his milkshake. He was silent for a few minutes as he drank from his cup and continued to watch her, study her. What was it about her, indeed? "The name's Tasuki," he said, finally introducing himself. He leaned back in his chair and turned his body so that he could drape one arm over the back of it, his shoulder against the wall.

[Miaka]

"Huh?" Miaka blinked, looked down at her ice cream, and groaned. That's what she gets. But it all seemed too.. familiar. "Well.. ice cream soup would be just as good of course!" Smiling, she took the dish to her lips and carefully drank from it. "It would be sort of like your milkshake I suppose." She laughed softly, looking towards the cookies, and couldn't possibly refuse. "Thank you."

While nibbling on her cookie she thought of how nice it was to sit and feel relaxed and comfortable, and yet uncomfortable at the same time. It really was at the tip of her tongue and she couldn't figure it out. She was starting to get annoyed. How could someone she just randomly meet be soo puzzlingly familiar to her and she couldn't remember why?

Biting her lip some, she finished her cookie and looked back to Tasuki realizing he had said something and she was off in her on little world. "Oh.. uh.. It's nice to meet you Tasuki!" She smiled widely. "My names Miaka by the way."

[Tasuki]

Once her name was said, it was as if a damn had burst open and some memories came flooding into his skull. The cup that was in his hand dropped to the floor and shattered, brown eyes staring at Miaka. The bandit hide out, the palace in Konan and dozens of other places flooded through him. Then something else hit him, something he shouldn't have remembered, something he didn't want to remember. Without warning Tasuki leaned over the table and grasped Miaka's chin in one hand, brown eyes gazing into her green orbs. "Yuki Miaka.. Suzaku no Miko," he whispered.

His head tilted and his gaze seemed to flicker between anger, softness, wonder and amazement. How could he forget her? His hand dropped from her chin and he wrapped his arms around the petite girl's shoulders, hugging her tightly. "Miaka.." he breathed and closed his eyes tightly. Memory after memory flooded through him and nearly all of them seemed to involve her. His Suzaku no Miko, the one he had to protect at all costs. And the one he loved more than life itself... "Miaka..."

[Miaka]

Miaka was frozen as if paralyzed. She could barely even comprehend what was going on. All she had said was her name...

"What... " She stuttered, completely in shock staring back freightened. "What did you just..." But she was cut off by his swift movements and his fingers suddenly brushing her chin gently. She was at a loss for words and movement. It was if she had lost all senses. And then the sound of her name.. his voice..

Suzaku no Miko? What.. ? I don't get it.. The reels in her mind began to churn slowly again once the numbing in her body began to phase. Her own green orbs stared back rather horrified by this newfound connection. It was as if she were supposed to remember..

To remember.. What?

His big brown eyes bore into hers with an intense passion she seemed to recognize. And not only once before.. but what was it? What was it about the way he said her name? The way he acted... ? The way he looked at her... ?

A very clear mental image of Tasuki appeared in her mind suddenly. Tasuki... Seishi? She let her eyes drift closed as a stream of colorful images flooded her mind. Memories. Memories of.. Tasuki!

The next thing Miaka knew, her eyes flew open, her arms stretched out to wrap around Tasuki’s neck and she was burrying her face into his shoulder. "Tasuki!" One of her seven Seishi's! That's right! That's what Suzaku no Miko meant! She was the Priestess of Suzaku! Hotohori.. Nuriko..

She remembered!

[Tasuki]

The sound of her voice saying his name caused his heart to pound in his chest. He hated girls, all girls, they never fought fair but Miaka.. Miaka was different. She didn't just go after things for herself, she wasn't selfish. Tasuki's arms tightened around Miaka and a faint shudder ran through his body. "Miaka.." he murmured. One hand lifted and pulled her hair from the bun shaped ponytails, then he buried his face into her hair. "We.. Aren't home. One minute I was drinking with Chichiri, then Nuriko threw me into a pond and then.. Then I'm here. How did I forget everyone? Everything?"

'More importantly, how could I forget you?' he silently wondered. Suddenly he was acutely aware of the eyes around them and he looked up, then blinked. Giving off a nervous laugh, he stood up, grabbed Miaka and the cookies then dashed out the door. Once outside he pulled her close and held onto her tightly again. It felt good to have her in his arms once more. However he remembered all too well of her love for Tamahome back in their own world. Maybe, just maybe, this was a gift for all of his good deeds - that Miaka would finally come to love him more than she ever would Tamahome. "I wonder how long until Nuriko regains his memories, as well?" he wondered aloud and then glanced in the direction of the campus.

[Miaka]

Miaka looked up at Tasuki and smiled. Then she caught a glimpse of the stares from around her and grinned nervously. "Err.."

Once outside and in Tasukis arms, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and held tight once more. If he wasn't letting go, neither was she.
Even if she remembered now, he remembered too and that made her feel all the more comfortable in his arms. Even if the small voice in the back of her head reminded her of Tamahome..
She shook her head. No.. she wouldn't think of him right then. Not when she was happy to have her memories back and Tasuki by her side again.
She listend to her heart pound loudly in her chest as she thought of her last moments before she had forgotten everything. "I had spoken with Hotohori.. before.. we were supposed to have dinner together.." She let the words drift off, and she was silent again.

At that moment all she really thought of was how wonderful it felt to be in Tasukis arms. His tight grip around her made her feel protected and wanted. And loved...

"Nuriko? Did you see him here too Tasuki?" She asked after tilting her head up to look at him. She wondered the same then too.. and hoped that she would find Nuriko and him remember also.

[Tasuki]

"Yeah. Fag boy's up at the school," he said and chuckled. He remembered how much he loved to pick on Nuriko and his love for Hotohori. A sad look formed on his face. Hotohori... Chichiri... "I haven't seen the others.. I don't think they were brought here." His eyes closed and he buried his face into Miaka's hair again. That didn't matter at the moment, that the others weren't in the same world. All that mattered was Miaka was there, that she was safe. And safe is how she would stay, safe in his arms.

"We should go find Nuriko. I think he might still be with Ryu up at the school." With a soft smile he turned and slipped an arm around Miaka's shoulders, then started walking down the sidewalk. "It won't take long to get there. You'd best eat your cookies before we get up there, though. Ryu has a thing for sugar."

[Miaka]

Miaka smiled. Tasuki was still on Nuriko's case. Night and day. Just as before.

But the others.. they weren't.. here..?

She buried her face into his shoulder suddenly saddened by the fact that she may never see her other Seishi again.. or.. Tamahome. With a small smile, she stood, nodding. "Okay! Let's go!" Was her response as enthusiastic as she could. At least she would get to see Nuriko again. Even if he did get on her nerves half the time.

Miaka followed at Tasuki's side, quickly inhaling the cookies at his warning. She smiled softly, but was silent for the duration of their walk together.