Miaka:
Miaka... Just a normal teenage girl in Tokyo, trying to pass her high school entrance exams. But her life became much less than normal when she was captured by a book of the "Four Gods". On a short trip to the National Library, and finding the book in a restricted room, she and her best friend, Yui, became lost in Ancient China. Automatically they were attacked by some rugged men, and saved by a handsome stranger with a red symbol on his forehead. He expected them to pay him for his duties, but they had no money, He walked off as Miaka rummaged through her pockets for money, and Yui disappeared and returned to the modern world, leaving Miaka behind. Miaka, finding money, but no one around, had NO IDEA where Yui went to, and so she went on a mission to find the man with the symbol (she believed he had taken her).
She finds him in an Empire known as Konan, and after getting in trouble with the Emperor she finds herself being placed in the role of the Suzaku no Miko, The Savior of Konan! Her mission was to collect the Seven Seishi, which would allow her to call upon Suzaku and have three wishes. Ironically, the man with the symbol and the Emperor himself were the first two of these Seishi. She soon fell in love with the man who had saved her in the beginning, Tamahome. Yet, she missed her friend, and she soon realized that Yui had returned to Tokyo. She soon was able to return to Tokyo to see Yui, yet... Yui wasn't there!
Ahh yes..Yui... So, it was her time to be taken into the book, to Kouto, where she experienced terrible things. She became Seiryuu no Miko, enemy to Suzaku. Her reasoning was because she thought Miaka has abandoned her. And when Miaka did finally appear to save her, she became jealous because Miaka was in love with the same man as she was, who was Tamahome. She also thought Miaka only came back to see him. Yet, it wasn't true! Miaka never abandoned her! She didn't hear Yui's cries as she was almost raped in the book only because she had taken off her school uniform, which was their connection between the two worlds. Nakago, the Seiryuu Seishi, had filled Yui's mind with those hateful thoughts toward Miaka! And when Miaka returned to the book again from Tokyo, she was surprised to find her best friend held such a newfound hate toward her.
Yet Miaka was determined to get her best friend back, and with the help of her love, Tamahome, they set to do just that. The way to reach her goal is to find the Suzaku Seven and grant her wishes. Yet Yui, with her new role as Seiryuu no Miko has the same plans, but only to "destroy" the dreams of Miaka. To let her feel the pain she had experienced.
Miaka is cornered in many situations in the book, mostly brought upon Nakago, Yui, and her Seishi. She always seemed to have something in the way of her and Tamahome's love whereever they may go (one of those on-off relationships).
Never once did she lose the hope that one day she'll have her best friend back. And, in a world where anything can happen, only a strong heart and the power of love and friendship can ever make her life the way it was before... When she was a "normal" teenage girl, only trying to pass her high school entrance exams...
Tamahome:
He dedicated his life to making money, for his family was very poor, and his father very sick, so he was the only hope. He is the oldest of five children, and has an unconditional love for his siblings and his father. In his youth he was teased about the mark of the oni (ogre) on his forehead, but his father always told him that mark would lead him to his destiny. All he has gone through in his life taught him to keep a rough exterior, and he was always quick to his emotions. Having the life of a bodyguard or bargainer, and becoming obsessed with earning money, he was able to forget that annoyance on his forehead...
Until the day came that he found two obviously foreign girls being attacked by some men. By some unknown force he rushed in to protect them. Ridding them of the bad guys, he asked for money as payment, but these two girls had NONE, so, uninterested he left them. Later he runs into one of these girls again, this time she is looking for her lost friend Yui. He tries to get rid of her, but because of her stupidity, the Emperor of Konan's guards arrests them both. He soon finds that this annoying girl is actually the girl of his destiny, Suzaku no Miko. Her real name is Miaka, a girl from another world. The mark, which was on his forehead, signified that he was one of her protectors, Tamahome. So he drops his lifestyle of working on the streets (though he is still obsessed with money *to help his family of course*) and he sets out to help her find the other Suzaku Seishi. He also feels a great desire to protect her, aside from the fact that it is his duty. He has a connection with her, which he has never known before...
Eventually this girl admits to him that she loves him. He has never had ANYONE tell him that before, and he is stunned, so he tells her that he has no feelings for her. He only protects her because she is the Miko. It isn't until she leaves for her own world again that he feels as though part of him has been taken away... Some how, he had also fallen in love with her. Or maybe from the beginning, that is what he had felt all along... When she returns he takes no time to tell her he loves her. He wants to always be with her. And so they become one *very* cute couple (although they breakup, make-up, breakup, make-up a lot)! Unfortunately they have many troubles ahead, because Miaka's friend Yui also loved him, and she was jealous of their love. Yui became Seiryuu no Miko, enemies to Suzaku. After the Suzaku Seishi Suboshi kills his family, his hatred for Seiryuu deepens, and he will fight to no end against them. He helps her save her friend, Yui, from the evil grasp the Seiryu Seishi, Nakago, has around her.
Later in the series he and Miaka are married, and when the time comes that he must return to the book, and Miaka must stay in her world, he promised Miaka that he would find her again...Their bond is so strong that their love can live even through time.