The Thorns Of A Rose (A Fushigi Yuugi Fanfiction) [ON HIATUS]

Chapter 13: "For The Sake Of Love, I Shall Protect You"

"Rescued from Kutou by Lady Miya, Tamahome, and Chichiri, the priestess of Suzaku, Lady Miaka, was taken to Taiitsukun's palace on Mt. Taikyoku to recover. There, for the first time, she learned the terrible truth of what had happened to her and her twin sister's best friend, Lady Yui, when she arrived in Kutou three months earlier.

Encouraged by the strange and mysterious powers of Taiitsukun, Lady Miaka reaffirmed her duty as the priestess of Suzaku, and returned to Konan with renewed determination.

But when she arrived, she found herself the object of desire in a battle between the burning passions of Tamahome and the Emperor Hotohori.

"There's only you, Tamahome."

And so, Lady Miaka realized just how strongly her heart was now bound to Tamahome...

...on the other hand, her twin sister was left to wallow in her misunderstanding."

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"No!"

Miya shook her head and slapped her cheeks as she brushed off the negative thoughts conquering her mind. 'Stop it, Miya! Your top priority is the safety of your twin, okay?! And besides, Miaka loves Tamahome anyway, doesn't she? No need to get jealous over something petty like this! You know your twin best, don't you?!' She argued to herself as she sat on the ground for a while.

All of a sudden, just as she was about to leave, Miya felt an ominous presence all the way from her twin sister's room. In a flash, she bolted back to the room, but not before stopping to give Hotohori, who also felt the presence, a worried look. The emperor was quick to interpret her expression, and together, they entered the room.

Hotohori hurriedly opened the door as Miya tailed behind him. "Be careful, both of you! I can sense something very evil in this room!" Just as he warned them, the presence finally began to speak. "Listen carefully."

"Who are you?!" Tamahome interrogated as Miaka clung to him. "I bear a message from Kutou, for the priestess of Suzaku! Our forces have already occupied several villages in Konan! Your kingdom is ours for the taking if we wish! However if the one member of the Suzaku Seven known as Tamahome, is delivered to Kutou, we will advance no further!" The presence wasted no time informing them.

Miaka instantly looked at Tamahome. 'Deliver Tamahome to the enemy...?' She thought. "Those are our terms. If the one member of the Suzaku Seven known as Tamahome is delivered to Kutou, we will advance no further," The presence repeated. 'But why in the world would Kutou want Tamahome?' Miaka pondered, as her mind flashbacks to what Yui declared to her in Seiryuu's shrine. 'I love Tamahome more than you! I do! That's why I'm going to take him away!'

'Is that it...? Is it Yui...?' Miaka sadly thought.

All of a sudden, footsteps were heard as Chichiri and Nuriko rushed into the room. The latter was the first to speak. "Miaka! There's evil presenceー"

"It's up there!" The former exclaimed as he revealed the enemy. The spy jumped down upon receiving the shock. Hotohori was quick to strike, but unfortunately, the spy was quicker, thus Hotohori only managed to tear a piece of his cloth. Tamahome followed after and tried to kick the spy, but the latter successfully dodged him as he headed straight to the window to escape.

However, to the spy's astonishment, Miya managed to get a hold of his right arm. Seizing the opportunity due to the former's state, the latter instantly clung to his other arm like there's no tomorrow. Only when the spy locked his gaze on his captor did she released his arms in shock upon realizing something, giving the spy a chance to escape through the windowーthis time, successfully.