Title : Rabbits

Disclaimer : I don't own Saiunkoku Monogatari. It belongs to Sai Yukino.

Rating : T

Genre : Friendship

Warnings : Yaoi, mentions of.

Pairing : None. Mentions of Reishin/Kijin.

Summary : Sequel to Gamble. Reishin and Kocho's friendship, fourteen years later. (Please, you really do NEED to read Gamble to understand this story!)

Time-fit: Post Twin Irises.

"May I?"

Reishin looked into the sparkling green eyes, and felt Kocho's hand on the opening of his robe.
"Have I ever said no?"

She smirked and slipped her hand in. She watched as his cheeks turned pink. She loved to watch him blush, even though she knew it was a blush of embarrassment, and not of passion.

Adjusting his pelvis to allow her hand easier access, he half-smiled at her.
"Why do you do this? I would have thought that after fourteen years, you should know that all that stroking is still not going to make it grow."

Kocho laughed, giving him a squeeze at the same time.
"I'm not trying to grow it. It's just a sign of affection. Like stroking a pet rabbit."

The laugh began. Kocho quickly shifted her hand over his abdominal muscles and felt the tremours grow in intensity. She loved doing this, feeling his laughter.

"Rabbit? Really, Kocho, you are not very kind!"

She gave the rabbit one last playful tug, before withdrawing her hand.
"I happen to like rabbits. Alright, roll over."

Reishin did as told, disrobing in the process. This was the part he liked. Kocho did a mean massage, and always left him feeling renewed. He smiled. Kijin appreciated his extra suppleness too, of course.

That little smile didn't escape Kocho's notice. She felt a twinge of envy. And immediately chided herself for it. Kijin had accepted Reishin's unconventional friendship with Kocho unequivocally. His teasing "Reishin's girlfriend" had no malice in it, just warmth. It takes a big man to accept someone else pawing his lover all over.

And it takes a very special man to allow himself to be pawed all over, without deriving any pleasure from it. Reishin pretty much allowed her to do whatever she wanted with his body. He trusted her to keep the touching "safe".

Kocho's hands worked over Reishin's back, coming to rest on his buttocks. Kocho smiled.
Ahh . . . Lord Kijin's "Dumpling".

Reishin had let slip the information, and had stammered and blushed, trying to undo the damage. It was his usual problem. When he was relaxed and in the company of people he loved and trusted, his tongue would loosen. The first time that happened, Kocho felt like she had finally arrived! She was in Reishin's inner circle!

And what a circle to be in. Reishin's friendship didn't just stop at companionship. Quietly, behind the scenes, he had helped her consolidate her position, to take over Koga House at the young age of twenty-two. On her part, she learnt the ropes fast, played her cards well, and rose quickly through the ranks. Reishin's role was dismantling her enemies. She was not allowed to ask how he did it. Very conveniently, one by one, her enemies gave up their fight against her.

The only thing he ever asked of her was to relocate her private quarters within Koga House. Originally, the top-levels were the owner's private quarters. Citing his dislike of climbing stairs, he had her move her quarters to ground-level. In the course of the renovations, he requested a secret entrance for his private use.

Secret. Always secret.
Kocho's chest tightened.
He's never acknowledged me in public.
Lord Shoka and Lord Kijin are the only two people who know of our friendship.
Not even his son. Koyu slept with me!
And, even though Reishin knew of Shuei's arrangements, he didn't say a word to me about it. Not before, not after.

Kocho's hands lay limp. Reishin shifted his upper body just a fraction, to allow himself to look at Kocho's face. His brows furrowed.
"Kocho, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing."

Worried, Reishin sat up in bed. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed, and pulled Kocho onto his lap.
"Tell me. I insist."

Kocho was trapped. She couldn't lie, not to him.
"You . . . you are ashamed of our friendship."

Hazel eyes stared at her incredulously.
"What?"

"Why else would you keep it secret?"
Much to her chagrin, Kocho's lower lip trembled.

Reishin wrapped his arms around Kocho. He said against her ear.
"I like rabbits too."

Kocho wondered if she heard rightly.

"I had a brown rabbit. Violet eyes. My father killed her. As a punishment. For dressing in my mother's clothes and using her lip colour."

Kocho felt Reishin tremble.

"I swore, as I buried her, that I will never let anything else get hurt on my account. Kocho, I have countless enemies. If our friendship were to be public, you would be the first target. You might be the owner of Koga House, and have underground connections now, but you are still a commoner. You do not have the standing of the eight colour houses. People who dare not strike directly at me will get you, to hurt me."

"Why didn't you tell me? So as not to worry me? Oh! That is such a man thing!"
Kocho got off Reishin's lap in a huff.

"Man thing?"
Reishin started to laugh.
"This has to be the first time I've been accused of being too manly!"
His laughter got interrupted by hiccups.

Kocho rubbed his chest and back.
"Are you alright now? Get back down, I'm not done with your butt."

Her hand came into contact with something oily. Her brows rose. Reishin was lying face-down and didn't see her expression.
Well! Looks like Lord Kijin had a little something early this morning to fortify himself for his Dumpling being home late tonight!

Kocho reached for a towel to wipe her hand, and caught a whiff of the oil on her hand.
"SESAME OIL?"

Reishin groaned, and buried his face in the sheets. He knew what was coming. Kocho dug him out from the sheets to stare at his blushing countenance.

"You have very strange tastes in your choice of oil, Hong Reishin."

"It's all Kijin's fault! There was nothing else on hand at the breakfast table! And he said I was just being fussy when I protested! And . . . and, between sesame and no oil at all, there wasn't really a choice, was there? I mean, Kijin's is not exactly a rabbit! Oh my god! What did I just say?"

And so Kocho learnt yet another bit of information that was never meant to be revealed. Grinning, she left Reishin to his self-recriminations. She went to the side-table and took out a small gold object from the drawer. She handed it to Reishin.

"Ohhh, it's exquisite!"
His brows rose, and he laughed.
"Oh! It has a picture of a rabbit! What is it? A perfume bottle? But why is it so flat? And why does it have these two small handles at the back?"

Taking a length of silk ribbon, Kocho threaded it through the two little handles.
"It's for carrying on your person. See, you can tie it around your waist. I bought it because of the rabbit design. You can have it."

"Thank you, but why would I need to carry perfume with me?"

Kocho gave him a very meaningful look.
"Not perfume, your choice of oil. Given Lord Kijin's tendency to pounce on you, it should come in useful. Of course, it's a very small bottle, you'll have to top-up after each use."

Reishin laughed, blushing.
"It's better than being marinated in sesame oil!"

"Definitely! Now, get back down. No more interruptions until I'm done with your snow-white dumplings!"

Giving Kocho a threatening look, Reishin complied. His slips of the tongue were bad enough, what made it worse was that Kocho had no qualms finding every opportunity to remind him of it.

"Reishin."

"Hmm?"

"Would you like to keep two rabbits with me?"

"What? Where? Here?"

"Yes, the courtyard is totally contained. It should be safe enough."

Reishin twisted his head to look at Kocho.
"I don't have time to look after them. And anyway, I only come once a week."

"I'll do the looking-after. You just enjoy them when you're here. I've always liked black-and-white ones. Is that alright with you?"

"It's alright, I don't mind."
He smiled.
"In fact, I like the idea. You're going to have to build some fences, otherwise they'll get into everything. And it's dangerous for them , they'll eat anything."

Reishin threw on his robe, completely forgetting that his massage was not done. Kocho followed him out into the courtyard as he started planning the rabbits' living arrangements.

This man, down on all fours peering under the raised pavilion, his long hair sweeping the courtyard tiles, was the head of the Hong clan. Feared by his enemies, and respected by his allies.

Kocho marveled at the many-faceted Hong Reishin. She wondered how he managed to compartmentalize his life, how he juggled his many roles.

She had never seen the formidable head of the Hong clan, reputed to be cold and ruthless, fair and just. And it is only through her very rare interactions with Lord Kijin and Lord Shoka that she caught glimpses of the other extreme Reishin; the one that, according to the incorrigible two, "pouts, stomps his foot prettily, and flirts with his fan".

HER Reishin, the one he presented to her, was . . . sweet. Most of the time he was open and child-like. He laughed easily, and was good-natured about her teasing.

Obviously, he didn't wish for her to see the other Reishins. He had clammed up when she asked about his methods for silencing her enemies. She learnt that she was not allowed to cross that boundary. And now, absently watching him crawl under the pavilion, she came to another realization.

Reishin had said nothing about Koyu having sex with her for the same reason that he pointedly ignored the fact that Shuei was her regular customer. It brought her profession too close to home.

She recalled that day when Reishin announced that he will help her achieve her dream of owning Koga House. All these years she hadn't understood his tears that day, hadn't understood why his voice broke at the words "your dream".

Now she did. Suddenly everything fell into place. That was the day Reishin came to understand what he didn't understand previously – that Kocho turned down his offer to buy her out of prostitution for the chance to see him again. Her profession hurt him, because he felt responsible for it. And yet, he can never talk about that hurt.

"Kocho, come take a look at this. It will be perfect for the rabbits."

She snapped out of her reverie. Rabbits, their rabbits, Reishin's and hers.
Yes, rabbits are cute and warm and safe. We can always talk about rabbits.

[The End]

Notes :

A reader, kk cheng, asked a question after reading Gamble.

"At the end, when Kocho decides to stop pursuing the sexual aspect of her relationship with Reishin she would no longer have any reason not to accept Reishin's offer to buy her out right?"

Yes, she would.

(1) The stigma of a prostitute can never go away. The best she can hope for is to become some rich man's concubine. And why would she want that? As someone else's concubine, she can never see Reishin again.

(2) Reishin himself can't take her as his concubine. That would be utterly unfair to Kijin. For that matter, Reishin doesn't have his own residence, he lives with Kijin in the Ko Manor(that is, in my ficverse).

(3) Reishin could set her up somewhere and keep her in secret. But there is the issue of Kocho's personality. The Kocho we see in the anime (owner of Koga House, leader of underground gang) is a very intelligent and capable woman. I really can't see her doing exactly nothing else with her life except wait for Reishin's weekly visit.

(4) By setting herself a career goal (to own Koga House by the age of thirty), it gives her something to focus on. Kocho is what we today would call a "career woman", and what other career can she have? Firstly, the reality of the fact that she's a "used" woman can't be denied, she will not be accepted in polite society. Secondly, her training is in this line, and she excels in it.

This relates to Reishin's tears and guilt in this story. Though not actually said, the underlying reason for that is precisely because he knows that Kocho's sacrifice is irreversible. If he had bought her out before she lost her virginity (before her "bidding"), she can lead a normal life. By the time Reishin came to realize why Kocho didn't want him to buy her out, it was too late for her. She's already been in service as a prostitute. Reishin also understood that the only thing left for Kocho was to be the best at what she was already doing. That's why he decided to go all out to help her be at the top of her career. As the owner of the most prestigious brothel in the capital city, she can at least, for the most part, choose her clients.