DISCLAIMER: The characters belong to Sai Yukino and Kairi Yura, Kadokawa Shoten, Madhouse Studios, etc., i.e., not me. I'm just borrowing them for a while to spin a tale.

薔薇公 (ばらこう): The Thorn Prince

By firewolf

Prologue – A Very Special Boy

Shouka gazed at the Kou's mansion with a touch of melancholy as he thought of the last time he stayed within its walls. He hadn't been back since Reishin was made the Head of the Kou clan while he was exiled.

For all that Reishin hated the Clan for exiling his beloved Aniue, Shouka knew his younger brother couldn't have so lightly reversed his sentence. However, this sudden pardon and summons, which also involved a petition to the Emperor asking for the Black Wolf's assistance, herald some very serious event.

"Aniue!" Reishin practically ran into the gardens to greet him. "Thank you for coming so quickly."

"Of course I rushed, my brother." Shouka assured him as he let Reishin take his hand in greeting. "Your message sounded most urgent and--" Shouka coughed awkwardly. "You did create an unusual precedent to get me here."

Reishin waved it off impatiently. "The situation warrants it.

"Please walk with me, Aniue." Shouka followed his brother curiously. "Do you remember seeing a young boy with me during my last visit to Kiyou?"

Shouka frowned thoughtfully as he found a memory of a timid child with aquarium hair and sad fearful eyes. "Yes." A wry smile touched Shouka's lips as he also recalled their first encounter. "Quite an imaginative and-- intelligent lad."

Reishin gave him a curious look, but Shouka didn't think his brother needed to know the little boy had accused Shoukun of pulling Reishin's affections away from Yuri Hime then. It had greatly amused them.

"I named him Li Kouyuu. I used the 'Kou' in 'red' and the 'Yuu' of the river."

Shouka's eyes flickered to the embroidery of plum blossoms on the collar of Reishin's robes. He mentally counted the strokes then stared at his brother. "You will never have your own children, will you, Reishin?"

"Kouyuu is my son. I need no other children!" Reishin snarled back. "Besides, Yuri doesn't want to add to the succession mess when that fool brother of hers passes on. And you know it will be a mess."

Shouka sighed as he nodded his reluctant agreement to the statement. The current Emperor was indeed a fool enough that the Kou's and the Ran's abandoned his court years earlier. As he was exiled before that event, Shouka was the only Kou 'representative' left in Kiyou. However, these troubled thoughts were quickly forgotten when they entered a part of the grounds Shouka once remembered as barren and disused.

The elder Kou was greatly impressed by what he saw. In all the years he had lived there, Shouka thought nothing could ever be done with the ugly corner. Now though, the ground was covered in a lush carpet of grass and the area surrounded by an artful riot of colourful flowers and bushes of vibrant green.

"Amazing! I didn't know we had such talented gardeners in Kou."

"We don't." Reishin sighed as he stood beside a beautifully flowering rose bush. "Aniue... Kouyuu is responsible for this."

"What?" Shouka looked at him in shock. "He's only-- eight, isn't he, Reishin? Surely--"

"He did not use gardening tools. And-- just three days ago, this part of the land was as you remembered it; barren rock and dirt."

Shouka fell silent as he studied his younger brother, understanding what Reishin didn't want to voice. If they ever wondered where Kouyuu was originally from, they now knew. The only reason why Shouka and Shoukun were left alone was because she lost her powers when she left the Hyou's. However... Shouka looked around the vibrant garden. There was no way Riou would let this amount of talent slip through his nets. Shouka matched wits with Riou enough times to predict he would immediately come for the boy once he heard of his powers.

"Reishin, do you love Kouyuu?" Shouka faced his younger brother directly. He had to know how committed Reishin was in his feelings for this boy; if he would embrace a Kou/Hyou clan war for him.

"Aniue... I-- I can't lose him." Reishin told him very honestly. "Not especially to a family who abandoned him to-- to--"

Shouka gave his younger brother's shoulder a gentle squeeze of understanding, indicating he didn't have to go on. In the weeks after Kou came to live with Reishin and Yuri, Reishin had sent several letters to him filled with much ranting and vociferous descriptions of the boy's physical and mental scars which told a very sad tale of his early life as a slave.

"I need help, Aniue." Reishin admitted in a very small voice. "The Hyou's will hear of Kouyuu eventually. And--"

Shouka took his brother's hands in his. "Kouyuu is the son of the clan's head, and my nephew, Reishin. You even gained the Emperor's blessing, so the Wolves will stand with the clan too."

Reishin gave Shouka's hand a grateful squeeze. They had little time to say more though as the boy at the centre of the turmoil to come suddenly appeared dragging a bemused Yuri after him. "Reishin sama! Look what I did."

Upon seeing Shouka though, Kouyuu immediately ducked behind Yuri to peek at him from around her robes. Shouka could see that the little boy had blossomed under their care. Though shy, he didn't seem as timid a little thing Shouka had glimpses of during Reishin's marriage.

Yuri reached behind her to pet his head. "Kouyuu, don't you remember Shouka sama? He's the one with the Rose lady and the two children."

Shouka had to look askance at Reishin for this unique description. "His first name for Shoukun sama was 'Bara Hime.'" Reishin shrugged. "Don't ask me how he knew."

Shouka shook his head in wonder as Reishin approached his family. Kouyuu was shyly led out to face them and Shouka was astounded to find the boy holding a branch of flowering plum blossoms when the season had clearly ended several months earlier.

Reishin let out a quiet sigh as he knelt to bring himself down to the boy's level while accepting the branch of flowers. "Kouyuu, this is very pretty, but please, you need to be careful and stop doing this so openly."

"Why? I can make the garden nicer for you. Didn't you like the new corner?"

"Yes, yes. It is beautiful, Kouyuu." Reishin assured him quickly. "It's just-- This-- this magic that you do. You're a very special little boy. I don't know where you've learned your spells bu--"

"But there are no spells." The little boy protested in mild outrage. "There are no words of power or string of special arcane words. That's all nonsense. You can set trigger words, but all the rest is-- It's just--

"I'm not special!" Kouyuu told them vehemently. "You're like me too, Reishin sama. You can do this too. Or maybe something like what I do. There's just this black thing tied around you holding you back. Shouka sama too!"

Before anyone realised what was happening, Kouyuu reached over to grab some unseen object barely an inch in front of Reishin's chest and gave it a hard yank and twist. Shouka thought he heard something snap, but to Reishin it was apparently much more as his eyes widened in surprise and he fell off his knees to sit abruptly on the grass.

The earth began to tremble around them.

To be continued...