Miaka has lost a lot of blood, and is still in bad condition. All of a sudden, out of the sky, pop Taistukun and the nyan nyans! Taitsukun takes Miaka, Tamahome, Nuriko and Hotohori all to the mountain where she lives - a beautiful place that only the pure hearted can truly see. Once there, Taitsukun says Miaka needs blood, so Tamahome and Hotohori readily offer theirs. Tamahome says, in a beautiful line, 'Breathing for no purpose is a waste of life.'
After she's been given blood in this very touching scene, which shows the love her seishi have for Miaka, she is transported back to her own world. At the same time, Yui is sent to the book world in a ball of blue light. The blue list is symbolic of the God Seiryuu as Yui is to become Seiryuu No Miko. Before Miaka leaves though, Tamahome tells her to get better, and that instead of thanking them, to come back to them after she is healed. He says to her that they will be waiting. She realizes that leaving means leaving Tamahome behind in this world.
When she gets back to her own world, she tries to tell her big brother, Keisuke, about everything that happened. There's a BEAUTIFUL song that is played while she tells him, and I have copied the lyrics off the video I just watched:
Keisuke doesn't really beleive her but warns her to stay away from the
book. Miaka, though, can't get Tamahome and the rest of the book world out
of her mind. She absent mindendly writes Tamahome's symbol 'ogre' in her
notebook. Her eyes well with tears when Tamahome's apparition appears in
front of her (it's just a creation of her imagination) but she tries to
reach for him, and he disappears. 'He's not here', she says sadly. 'Not in
this world. Tamahome, no matter how much I want to see you, you exist only
in a book.
Since Miaka got back, she has been trying to call Yui and see if she is
ok, but she is never home and her mother doesn't know where Yui is.
It is here Miaka realizes that Yui has been missing far too long and
that she must have gone into the book and must be resuced. Miaka decides
to return to the book world to find Yui. She and Tamahome are
the two most important people in Miaka's life and she needs them both. At
the library, she is about to go into the book when Keisuke appears. He had
seen her go to the library and followed her. He tries to stop her but all
she says before she eneters the book again is:
This isn't just for Yui. I feel I can't escape - until the last page of
the book. I'm on my way Yui-chan - Tamahome!
She enters back into the book world. Although in the real world, only 2
hours had passed since she entered the book and returned, since leaving
the book, 3 months had passed within the book world. Hotohori and Nuriko
are both overjoyed at seeing her. She is told that to protect Konan and
find Yui she must call Suzaku and for that she must find the seishi. She
asks where Tamahome is, and Nuriko tells her that he had left several days
ago, to go earn money and return home. Miaka is hurt that Tamahome didn't
wait for her.
Nuriko and Miaka ride together to find Tamahome. Nuriko is now dressed as
a male (VERY good looking one by the way!).
Miaka thinks to herself, as she rides with
Nuriko, 'Fine time for Tamahome to go off to earn money....or is it he's
just forgotten about me?...it HAS been 3 months..'she becomes sad.
Nuriko then picking up on Miaka's sadness says: 'You're a welcome site.
Tama-chan'll be ecstatic. After you left, he lost his focus and became
absent minded. Wish you could have seen it!' she says with mirth.
We then see a shot of Tamahome sitting, looking very dazed with birds
flying over his head in circles. Next we see Tamahome munching away at a
plate, biting it over and over again, but with no clue what he is doing!
Miaka: Really?
Nuriko: So don't worry
Miaka: Why should I worry?
Nuriko: You're Tamahome's love.
Miaka: That's not true! Tamahome told me himself!
Nuriko: At the time, he didn't realize it.
They are now very deep into the forest and it has gotten unusually dark.
Nuriko's horse rears up for some reason, tossing Miaka to the ground. A
strange figure of a man appears above her brandishing a weapon. Miaka
yells angrily 'What do you think you're doing?' He replies 'Who are YOU?'
and Miaka recognizes the voice. It is Tamahome. They both say eachother's
name in stunned shock. Tamahome then reaches up and touches and holds her
face gently between his hands.
Tamahome: Miaka. Is it really you? It was only 3 months, but it felt like
1000 years.
Miaka: Tamahome...(her eyes water with tears of joy)
Tamahome: Miaka...(they embrace and hold eachother SOO tight)
I can't go forward feeling this way
Yesterday's vexation, I can't forget,
going over and over it in my head.
I can't get out of the maze.
If there's no exit...break one open!
In this life, the weak can't survive.
If there's resistance, I'll take it on!
Sometimes I'm a coward, and I want to cry.
But I'll force myself, since that's not
the way I want to be.
Forever....I'll smile...in the end...
And that's the way it's going to be!
As they embrace Miaka thinks to herself: 'I missed you. You're so warm. I can hear your heart beating. Who cares if he IS from a different world. I want to stay like this. I love him so much.' And her tears fall.
Tamahome: Looks like you're feeling better. (he smiles down at her and wipes her tears away tenderly)
All of a sudden, assasins sent by Kutou (konan's enemy country) attack Miaka. They want to kill her. But hands grab Miaka from behind before the attack, and Tamahome, seeing this runs off to see where she disappeared to. As he goes off to search for her, the assasins attack and kill the party of people that had been with Tamahome, and the arrows they brandished pin Nuriko to a tree.
The hands that saved Miaka belong to the 4th seishi - chichiri - but they don't know that yet. He pulls himself and Miaka into his long hat, to save her, and then pulls her back out, dropping her off in a safe spot in the forest, and leaving his hat with her. Tamahome finds her and they rush back and find the men killed and Nuriko on a tree. Miaka is shocked and ovewhelmed that these people died instead of her, and she thinks BECAUSE of HER - but it is never her fault. The evil doers want only to kill her and will kill whoever stands in their way of completing that goal, including innocents.
Miaka is always overly sensitive about the chance of people dying for her, getting hurt defending her, or her having any part in the sufferings of anyone. She wants people to be happy and safe and alive, and cause no trouble for anyone. As she thinks all this, she is comforted by Tamahome who hugs her, seeing how distraught she is by the deaths.
That night they stop to eat, and she tells them how the strange man with the hat (chichiri) had told her she was targeted by Kutou assasins. She gets a very sad face to which Tamahome tells her that it's true because as Suzako No Miko, she is an obstacle to other countries. But seeing her sad face, he says:
Tamahome: Don't make that face. I'm with you. I won't let anything happen to you.
At that moment, people announce strangers have arrived in the town and they need Tamahome to defend the town. Tamahome is defending the townspeople for a fee. He runs to fight with money on his mind. Miaka and Nuriko both are annoyed by his money hungry ways, but the inkeeper there tells them that Tamahome is a nice guy, and that while Tamahome could charge anything, instead he asks for only a little amount - enough for very cheap food. Miaka realizes she doesn't have any idea why Tamahome always wants money.
The next morning she wakes up wondering again why Tamahome needs money. She looks out her window to see Tamahome on a horse leaving for his home village. She wakes up Nuriko and they both follow Tamahome, secretly. As they arrive at his village Miaka gets very happy and blushes a lot because she's shy over the fact that she's in the very place where Tamahome grew up and was raised. Since she loves him, this is very important to her. She wishes to be Tamahome's love and one day, even his bride.
They watch and see Tamahome's family run out to meet him. Tamahome is the oldest and has 4 other siblings, 2 boys and 2 girls, the youngest being a girl named Yuiren who is his favorite because he pretty much raised her. All are adorable and very happy to see their 'Niichan!' (word for older brother). Tamahome is laughing and happy as he greets his siblings and asks his father, who is a sick old man, how he is feeling.
Miaka: I've never seen his face this way before. This is a Tamahome I don't know.
Tamahome shows his father how much money he's earned. And his father replies that he is happy Tamahome cares about his family so much, but worries about Tamahome taking care of himself, and finding a bride. Tamahome brushes this off and says that he is ok, just fine. He thinks about his family above himself.
He turns to leave but Yuiren clings to him and says 'Don't go!'. Tamahome's eyes well with emotion as he hugs Yuiren and tells her that next time, he'll bring her a doll. She looks up at him with pleading eyes, 'Niichan, I like YOU more!'
Tamahome: Yuiren, Niichan will do anything for your happiness. I'll grit my teeth and do any kind of job. So please be a little patient.
Miaka gasps and realizes that THIS is why Tamahome always seems so money hungry. "It was all for his family", she says, as she and Nuriko cry hysterically and wail aloud in a very funny scene.
All of a sudden, Tamahome yells Yuiren's name, asking what happened, it seems Yuiren has caught a fever. Hearing this, Miaka jumps in through the window and takes charge of the situation, taking care of Yuiren and making her well. After it's all done, Tamahome yells at Miaka and Nuriko for following him in a very funny scene. Following this, Tamahome's other sister asks if Miaka is Tamahome's wife.
As both Miaka and Tamahome deny this, Nuriko is sitting calmly, with a very serious look, and is telling Tamahome's poor father that Miaka and Tamahome went all the way to 'C' (sex). At which the poor old man gasps and his face gets all contorted. It's very funny. Tamahome steps in to yell at Nuriko to not joke with a serious face to his poor father! Miaka notices though that Tamahome was blushing the whole time and wonders about its meaning.
Later, Tamahome looks at Miaka and thanks her for everything. Miaka smiles happily at his. Yuiren then calls out weakly for Tamahome and Miaka tells him to stay with Yuiren as she goes to fetch water. Miaka leaves to go get the water smiling happily over Tamahome's happiness with her. As she gets the water, she remarks to herself that it feels like she is Tamahome's wife. But she shakes the happy thought from her head as she thinks:
Miaka: I'm being a fool. His wife? I can't even be his girlfriend. He exists only in a book...
As she thinks sadly upon these things, an assasin has appeared overhead and attacks her. Tamahome feels Miaka's in trouble and rushes to save her. Then another assasin shows up blocking Tamahome, but hands appear again out of the hat Chichiri left Miaka. (Miaka's been wearing it ever since)
Chichiri himself appears out of it and pulls Miaka to safety, and defeats the assassins with his magic. Tamahome hugs Miaka protectively as Chichiri finally introduces himself. He tells Miaka that she must be careful and must be responsible, for if she is not, there will many victims because of her actions. These words have a profound effect on Miaka.
Suddenly things take a more deadly, dark twist as they learn Tamahome's family has been attacked. They arrive home to see Tamahome's siblings, father, and Nuriko all bound by threads. Tamahome tries to fight but is also bound. The assasin says Miaka must surrender to his sword and die if she wants to save them.
She prepares herself and bravely makes the decision to die, thinking only of the pain of the young children, and the old man, and how they can NOT be victims of death because of her. So she unselfishly chooses to die for THEM. But Chichiri won't allow that to happen, and with his skills, quickly defeats the assassin, freeing everyone. As the assassin lies, dying, he warns them they will find their own Seiryuu No Miko, the Miko who will protect Kutou.
Later that afternoon, Miaka figures out that Yui may have been found in Kutou and made into Seiryuu No Miko. She does not want her and Yui to be enemies and realizes she must go to Kutou, and if Yui is there, rescue her. But, she doesn't want her beloved seishi in any more danger. She feels that this is a problem only Yui and she can face together, and that she must not involve others. Chichiri's words that there would be other victims because of her actions if she weren't responsible, play back in her head, strengthening her resolve to go to Kutou alone. She tells the seishi she is going for walk, and leaves instead for Kutou.
