Title : Yellow
Disclaimer : I don't own Saiunkoku Monogatari. It belongs to Sai Yukino.
Rating : T
Genre : Friendship
Warnings : Yaoi
Pairings : Kijin/Reishin
Summary : Kijin asks Reishin to make him a new mask, one "without even the tiniest bit of yellow" in it.
Time-fit: Two years after Kijin and Reishin became lovers. They are both twenty years old.
Note: Written in response to the LJ Saiun_Challenge prompt "Rainbow Challenge: Yellow".
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Reishin watched in silence as Kijin's elegant fingers absently traced the painted boundaries of the yellow eye-patches on the wooden mask. After two years, he knew his lover well enough to know it was pointless asking questions.
Kijin had been sullen from the moment he received that letter from his father. He had left for the Ko Province without an explanation. Upon his return, he had again said nothing. They had eaten dinner, taken a bath, and were sitting in their bedroom drying their hair when Kijin picked up his mask from the table.
"Reishin, I need a new mask. I can't wear yellow anymore."
Too stunned to speak, Reishin stared at his partner. As anyone who lived in Saiunkoku knew, colours were everything. The eight noble clans wore their clan colours with pride; starting with the emperor, who dressed himself and all his royal offspring in shades of purple. The idiotic Ran triplets, not satisfied with wearing identical indigo dresses, even went so far as to wear blue ribbons in their hair! Reishin, himself from the Hong clan, was the only Hong sibling who did not deck himself out in red. Shoka wore a very deep shade of maroon, close to brown, in a full frock. Kuro matched his brighter maroon top with a deep green skirt. Reishin had always found it somewhat ludicrous, this obsession with clan colours.
Reishin's only concession was to have maroon trimmings on his shirt and outer skirts. And, to balance even that show of red-pride, Reishin opted to have a multitude of colours in his outfit – dull purple, ochre, pale grey, moss green, bright orange, and, of course, a bright yellow belt. The belt, as Reishin had once mockingly explained to his lover, was Kijin's "bind" on him. Because yellow was the colour of the Ko clan.
The significance of Kijin not being able to wear yellow anymore hit Reishin hard. It could only mean one thing – Kijin was disowned by the Ko clan.
"Why, Kijin?"
"First wrong: Officially changing my name to 'Ki-jin'. Second wrong: Bringing shame to the clan by living with a man. Third wrong: Compounding it by naming the place of shame 'Ko Manor'. Fourth wrong: Defying a direct order to put things right by marrying the woman chosen by the clan."
"Why haven't you ever told me any of this? When did you turn down the marriage?"
"Six months after we set up house."
Reishin frowned in exasperation.
"It doesn't make sense! Why wait another one and a half years to disown you? Why now, Kijin?"
Kijin drummed his fingers on the mask, and gave Reishin a tight smile.
"Because you made me this mask."
"You mean, you were called back to Ko Province because you started wearing a mask?"
"Yes, my father wanted an explanation."
"What did you tell him?"
"The truth, that the mask was to hide my face. And that of course included letting him know that I wasn't prepared to use my beautiful face for the underhanded dealings of the Ko clan anymore."
"So, they let us be, so long as you were still useful to the clan? And now that you are no longer willing to do their dirty work, they disown you?"
Kijin shook his head.
"Yes and no. I was given one last chance. My father offered me a compromise. I didn't have to use my face. I can even keep you as a secret lover. So long as I get married and produce heirs."
"You refused."
Reishin's voice hitched.
"You're surprised?"
Kijin's smile was genuine this time.
"So, Dumpling, make me a new mask. And without even the tiniest bit of yellow."
Without even the tiniest bit of yellow.
Reishin felt his heart wrench. Kijin, just like Reishin's brothers, and like any other aristocrat in Saiunkoku, wore his clan colour proudly. And there was an unmistakable quiver in Kijin's voice when he said the word "yellow".
Yellow. Ko. Reishin had never understood Kijin's family pride, had never understood why being a Ko would mean so much to a man. Reishin himself hated being a Hong. He hated the constraints, obligations, and whatever else that comes with being a member of a noble clan.
One of the privileges of being a member of the coloured nobility was a backdoor into the civil service. The meritocratic system of gaining entry through the Imperial Examinations was "optional" for members of the clans. Reishin and Kijin had both chosen to take the Imperial Examinations, even though they need not do so to become court officials.
But their reasons differed. Reishin did it because he didn't want anything to do with the Hong clan. Kijin did it out of personal pride. He wanted to prove to himself that he had enough talent to make it on his own. But throughout it all, Kijin was proud to be a Ko. It showed in his full-length, brilliant yellow tunic.
Even at home, in the privacy of their bedroom, Kijin wore a pastel yellow loose robe. Reishin looked at his yellow-clad lover, this Ko Kijin. He didn't know about the Ko clan's displeasure with regards to their being lovers. He didn't even know that Kijin had angered his father by dropping his given name "Houju". Reishin felt a pang of guilt. Which father wouldn't be upset by a son who chose to make himself a laughing-stock by taking on the name "weirdo"?
And it's all because of me.
He became Ko Kijin because of me.
And now, he's lost his family name Ko, also because of me.
Oh my god, I've robbed him of his identity!
"Is this your idea of a joke, Reishin?"
The "this" Kijin referred to was a brand new mask, still smelling of paint and raw wood. The first mask was colourful and intricate. In contrast, the new mask was stark in its simplicity, just fine red lines to define the nose and eyes, against a solid deep-yellow base.
"No, it isn't. You can continue to wear yellow. I made a deal with your father."
Kijin froze. He knew his father. He knew the Ko clan. The clan's forte was trade and commerce. The Kos were experts at making deals. They always drive a hard bargain.
His question came out barely above a whisper.
"What did you give up, Reishin?"
"My freedom from the Hong clan entanglements. I've just been officially made the Head of the Hong clan. As you know, Red and Blue are leading the pack in the Saiunkoku power play. Your Yellow clan, Kijin, is a close second. Your father couldn't resist the offer. An alliance with the Head of the Red clan is of high value, never mind the embarrassing gay connection."
Kijin dropped the new mask, and wrapped his arms around the newly-appointed Head of the Hong clan.
"No! You've already made up your mind NOT to accept the clan leader position! Reishin, don't do this, it's not worth your freedom!"
Patting Kijin on his back, Reishin cooed softly.
"It's already done. And it's alright, Kijin. That freedom was just a dream. I can't escape what I was born into. At least this way, I know why I'm doing the detestable job."
Reishin laughed.
"And when the pressure builds up too much, I'll take it out on you! And in bed too! Deal?"
"Deal."
Kijin felt Reishin's hands slip under his robe.
"Has the pressure started?"
"Just shut up already, Yellow."
[The End]
Notes:
(1) For the background story on the Ko clan's use of Kijin's beauty, and Kijin's decision to stop doing such assignments, as well as Reishin's making of the very first mask, read Dotting The Eyes and The Last Mask.
(2) For the story of why Kijin took on the name "Ki-jin"(meaning "weirdo"), read KI-JIN Chapter 1: Unconventional Friendship.
(3) The mask Reishin made in this story (deep yellow base with red outlines for the nose and eyes) is one of the many masks shown in the anime Season 1 episode 9.
(4) The "backdoor" option available to aristocrats into the civil service, and the fact that Kijin and Reishin chose to sit for the Imperial Examinations, are covered in the light novels.
(5) Sorry about the blue ribbons in the Ran triplets' hair! I know that's not canon (it only exists in my fanfic Blue Ribbon), but I just couldn't resist it. It goes so well with Reishin's slightly disdainful attitude towards the flaunting of clan colours! ^_^