Only Time: The Sacred Power

Chapter Twenty-Six

By J. Marie

Warning!!! This is a lemon yaoi fanfiction starring Nakago and Tasuki from Fushigi Yugi. It is rated NC-17. Boy, my FY muse made a comeback. She came and kicked the shit out of all the other muses. Let's see how long she can hold out. Maybe I can get this done soon!! BTW, I once again am avoiding getting into the past of the Genbu seishi, because Yu Watase has already stated she is going to be writing about their past, and I don't want to contradict canon.

"Hikitsu!!"

"Tomite!!"

Nakago and Tasuki stared uneasily at each other. The spirit of Takiko Okuda had appeared, and just as quickly disappeared with her two seishi. Now they were alone, lost in the darkness that was Junko Ishida's soul.

And then...

Tasuki gasped as a specter of the past ran by him. It was his sister, younger than even he at the time. He and Nakago stood in a time long ago, as the veil between what was and what is thinned. This was not the view of the past the other three had given, but they were actually there. Tasuki put his hand out, but it passed right through his sister. She didn't even notice him.

They were there, but they weren't.

"Danielle!!"

Junko Ishida ran through Nicholas' house, running to the bedroom where Danielle and her newborn son were sleeping. Junko had left her father's house with a sinking feeling in her stomach.

She skidded to a halt, listening to the sounds of an infant screaming. Her ponytail bobbed, and her young face crumpled up. She already knew, though she had not seen.

"Danielle..." Junko whispered as she walked in and picked baby Nakago up in her arms. She turned to the bathroom. The door was open, and Nicholas O'Brien sat beside the tub, a cold, dead hand in his. Tears streaked down his face.

Junko could feel her own hot tears slip down her cheeks as she approached the bathroom. Nakago's crying only grew louder. Her boyfriend looked up at her, his big green eyes wide with grief.

"She's gone...just like Joseph...she's gone. She gave up. We're all going to end up like this, Junko. Every last one of us..." he whispered, tears in his eyes.

"We won't...we can't..." Junko whispered, and put a hand on her lover's head, stilling him. She walked away after a moment, to calm down the baby.

Nakago's face contorted for just a moment as he watched Junko Ishida rock him as an infant to sleep. Tasuki put a hand on his shoulder, looking at Nakago with concern. But in a blink of an eye, Nakago's mask was back in place, and his expression as stern as ever. Tasuki sighed and withdrew his hand.

Nicholas left the bathroom and called the police.

The scene shifted and blurred.

Baby Nakago slept contentedly in his cradle. In the bed, Junko and Nicholas lay curled up together, naked but for the sheet covering them. The light that shone through the blinds told Tasuki it was early morning.

Nicholas was awake, but Junko slept. The redhead traced the girl's face tenderly, looking torn.

"I lost it, Junko. I lost my love, and I don't know where to find it," Nicholas whispered. "You're so strong...I'll only bring you down. You have to be the one to live, Junko."

He detached himself from the sleeping girl, and put his clothes on, his face a mask of pain. Tasuki watched him pack a few things in a duffel bag, and head to the door, casting one last glance back at his girlfriend.

"I'm sorry I don't love you anymore, Junko," he choked, and then left.

The scene shifted and blurred.

"I'm sorry, Miss, but there is no way we can let a fourteen-year-old girl raise a baby. We've found him a good home..."

"No!! You can't take him!! I promised his mother I'd take care of him!!" Junko screamed, clutching baby Nakago to her. The infant was screaming loudly, sounding hysterical.

Tasuki turned and saw Nakago's face contort again, but within a second, his expression was blank and neutral. Tasuki's heart bled for him, and he put a hand on the blond's broad shoulder.

Two thickset men grabbed Junko, trying to pry the baby from her arms. She struggled valiantly, kicking and screaming. The men were both twice her size, but one fell back when she kicked him in the groin.

"No!! You can't have him!! I won't let you!!" she screamed shrilly.

Just outside the room, looking in the huge glass window, stood an apprehensive-looking Japanese couple. Tasuki recognized them immediately. They were Nakago's adoptive parents. He heard Nakago gasp beside him.

"NOOOOOoooooooo!!!" Junko screamed, as the other man finally wrestled the screaming baby from her grip. Baby Nakago was passed to the third man who had been speaking, who then walked to the door and passed the baby to the Japanese woman, who nodded her head. The baby held out his arms to Junko, crying loudly.

"I'm sorry, Miss Ishida, but you are underage, and unfit to raise a child. Mr. and Mrs. Iwasaki are very wealthy and can offer Nakago a very good life. He'll be well taken care of," the man who'd given Nakago away said to Junko.

But Junko wasn't listening. She had escaped the grip of the large man holding her and raced to the window, beating her fist against the glass as another man stood guard at the door, forbidding her from running after baby Nakago.

"GIVE HIM BACK!! HE'S NOT YOURS!! YOU GIVE HIM BACK TO ME!! YOU DON'T LOVE HIM!!! DON'T YOU TAKE HIM AWAY FROM ME!!!" Junko screamed at the top of her lungs, hitting the glass so hard that it shattered, and cut her hand. The grown Nakago beside Tasuki choked again, but quickly fell silent, with nothing but the working of his jaw to show how the scene affected him.

The two large men pulled her away, and she slid along the ground, leaving a trail of tears and blood behind her. It was at that moment that her mind broke.

The scene shifted and blurred.

Junko was in a mental asylum.

Tasuki choked, realizing that the girl tied to her bed was his sister. This time, it was Nakago's hand on his shoulder that comforted him.

A woman came into the room, and she bore a strong resemblance to Junko. She was small, far thinner than Junko, and her eyes were as golden as Tasuki's. She sat on the bed beside Junko, brushing the girl's hair across her brow.

"Junko...why...? Over some little gaijin baby?" the woman asked.

Junko turned her face. "Nakago is all I have left, Mother. And they took him away from me. Now I have nothing," she spat.

Junko's mother sighed and put a hand on Junko's abdomen. "And what about your shame, Junko? The half-gaijin baby who grows in your belly? That you would sully yourself...and with a gaijin. Some fool boy who ran out on you after sleeping with you. You have brought shame onto our house, onto your father and I. Our family's honor is ruined because of you," her mother said harshly.

Junko choked back a sob. "A baby...? I have a baby...?" she asked.

"But there is a way to forget this ever happened, Junko. You are too young for a child. You are only fourteen now, and you'll only be fifteen when the child is born. Your father does not know. I could leave this country, and go back home to Japan. I would take your child with me, and pretend he is mine. I no longer wish to stay with your father, and you know we were seeking a divorce. I will pretend this child belongs to another man, and no one would ever know he's really yours. I am already shamed. It is pointless for you to be shamed as well," her mother said.

Junko began to keen. "No...he's mine...don't take him away..." she moaned.

"You are mentally unstable, Junko. The doctors have told me you were going to be in here for months. Long enough to have the baby. Your father doesn't even wish to see you while you are in here. I will take the baby, Junko. This must be done, to preserve our family honor. I will not let some foolish girl raise a baby by herself. You have gone mad, raving about beast gods, and celestial warriors. You think you could raise this child, any child? You are unfit to be his mother. You can be nothing but his sister," her mother spat, standing up.

Junko struggled against her bonds. "No...please, Mother, not again...please don't take my baby, too..." she begged.

"I cannot let you be his mother. You shall be his sister, and as long as I am alive, you will never see him. I will not let you shame me. And I will not let your foolishness be passed onto the child," Junko's mother said coldly, and then turned to leave.

"I'm doing this for your own good, Junko," her mother called as she left.

The scene shifted and blurred.

Tasuki stood transfixed, as the realization slowly dawned on him. Nakago's hand bore into his shoulder.

No...

It was all a lie.

But why...?

Junko was tied to her bed, and she was screaming things that made no sense to anyone but Tasuki and Nakago. Another Junko, the older, overweight Junko that Tasuki knew sat at the edge of the bed, her back to herself.

"Yui!! We must summon Genbu together!! Together, you and I are strong enough!! We cannot let Tenko rule the universe!! He has already killed my senshi!!" Junko screamed. The doctors ignored her ravings, thinking her already quite mad.

"I was in two places at once. You know how funny time is within the book. Takiko and I became separated after they took Nakago, you know. Her spirit left for the Shi Jin Tenchi Sho, but when it returned to me, we were unable to join. Tenko had funneled Takiko into Yui, and used them as a catalyst to use and abuse for his own power. It was Takiko's presence that let Yui summon Genbu," Junko explained.

"Junko..." Tasuki choked. He had so many questions, so many things he had to know for sure.

"For months, I was like this. Mad, raving...that's why they locked me up in here," Junko went on, ignoring Tasuki.

The younger Junko thrashed against her bonds. Blood seeped from where her bindings chafed her skin. Spittle flecked her face, and her eyes burned green. She screamed horribly, as if she was in pain. Her pregnant belly bobbed as she struggled uselessly.

"I still have nightmares about it. About watching my newly reincarnated senshi die at Tenko's hands. Until only two were left, and he killed them during the battle with the Suzaku senshi. I still hear them screaming. I still remember the battle, where Yui's life hung in the balance. And I remember how the Seiryu seishi, Suboshi and Amiboshi, gave their lives to save her. And I remember seeing the ghost of Nakago appear, moments before he returned to his new, infant body in the real world. I still remember it all..." the older Junko whispered.

"Junko, please tell me..." Tasuki began before he was cut off.

"And I still remember you, little Tasuki. And how I thought I'd never see you, ever again..." Junko said, staring at him oddly, before she flickered and faded from sight, leaving them alone with her mad, raving, younger self.

The scene shifted and blurred.

The younger Junko was screaming again.

She was giving birth. Doctors surrounded her as she pushed, her screams echoing throughout the room. Her mother stood off to the side, wearing a false body suit that made her look pregnant as well.

Tasuki sunk to the floor. Only Nakago's hand steadied him at all.

"But...how can it be...?" Tasuki asked rhetorically, staring at what he thought was his sister his whole life.

The doctors pulled the baby from Junko as she gave one last scream. They washed him clean, and Tasuki choked on his own saliva as he saw a shock of red hair on the baby. The infant boy screamed loudly, his cries piercing everyone's ears. The baby was handed to Junko, who cradled him gently, grinning down at him through her tears. He quieted instantly, settling down in his mother's arms.

"He's so beautiful! Just like a little doll...and look at his red hair!" Junko said, stroking the baby's head. "You're so beautiful, my little Tasuki, and I love you so much..."

Her mother stepped forward and took the baby from her hands, causing Junko to sob, as well as the baby. The piercing screams began again.

"No, please, Mother...just a little longer..." Junko sobbed.

"You've had long enough. I can't let you get attached to him. So you've named him Tasuki? A strange name, but I shall keep it. I am sorry, my daughter. When you are well, you will go back to your father, and you will be grateful you do not have a child to look after," her mother said, not unkindly.

Junko sobbed piteously, watching as her son held out his arms to her, desperately trying to reach his mother. He was so like Nakago. History had repeated itself, it seemed. Junko's heart broke again, and she didn't think she could take it anymore. She fell silent, listening to the fading screams of her baby.

The scene shifted and blurred.

Tasuki sobbed as well, realizing that his sister was his mother. His mother. And his father...his father was the strange redheaded man who looked just like him. His parents were alive...

It was all a lie. Everything Junko had told him was a lie. How could she lie to him? Why didn't she just tell him he was her son? Why did she keep it a secret? Why did she keep everything a secret?

The sound of footsteps caused him to look up. Nakago's hand was still on his shoulder, it had never left. Nakago helped him to his feet, offering him a thin smile. Tasuki swallowed.

Junko was walking past him. She must have been let out of the mental asylum, for she was wearing normal clothing. But she was as pale as a ghost, and had rapidly gained weight. She wore a white dress, and looked half-dead. Dried tears streaked her face. Tasuki reached out to her, but his hand passed through her body as she stepped out onto the ledge.

Tasuki realized they were on the roof of a very tall building. Junko spread her arms, and looked ready to leap to her death.

He couldn't let her die! He couldn't let his sister...his mother die!! She hadn't lost everything! She still had him, and no matter what secrets she kept, what lies she had told him, Tasuki still loved her with all his heart and soul.

"JUNKO!!!" Tasuki screamed as Junko put one foot over the ledge.

To be continued...

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