A/N: There is very little humor in this story, which is strange for me. Hope you guys like this story, it was a pain for me to write but I wanted to get it out of the way to write about Bumi.
Never been righteous, though seldom we're wrong.
Life's only life with you in this song.
-Flogging Molly, Whistles the Wind
A young man stood looking out at a vast expanse of ice and water, quietly waiting for sunrise. As the rays of sunlight began to touch the clouds, the first of Pakku's students arrived. The newcomer greeted his teacher with a bow and a smile.
"Master Pakku, congratulations on your arrangement."
"The spirits smile upon me," Pakku responded, not bothering to bow back, "how often are you arranged to marry the girl you love?"
"You're lucky. The girl I'm engaged to is ugly as sin." The student grimaced.
"Don't tell that to my cousin Lo, she broke his heart," Pakku said as he laughed.
As more students came to the training grounds the lesson started. As a gesture of his good mood, Pakku let the class out early; he had a date.
Pakku strode into the center of town and walked into a restaurant called The Poached Eelhound. Sitting in the middle of the laid-restaurant was a young woman with dark brown hair framing big blue eyes and a well-rounded face. Kanna did not look pleased to see him.
"If your gaze could kill, my love, I would have been dead 100 times over," Pakku said, sitting down. She wouldn't speak, but kept staring at him. She was still glaring as the waiter came to take their order.
"We'll just share dumplings," Pakku said, then looked at Kanna, "I don't want my little otter penguin turning into a tiger seal. Don't look at me like that, I brought you something." He pulled a blue ribbon from his coat pocket and handed it to her.
"It took me three days to get it right," He said, care in his voice, "No store bought betrothal for my love."
"You know it was the craziest thing this morning," Pakku said as she turned the necklace over in her hands, slowly tracing the carvings in the pendant, "I couldn't find matching socks this morning. I was almost late for my class. I'll be so glad when I have you there to keep things tidy."
"That's it!" Kanna said, barely keeping in control, "You've been talking all this time and never even asked me a damn thing!"
"Well…" Pakku trailed off, and Kanna rolled her eyes in disgust.
"You and this society think so little of the female opinion! I can't stand it anymore!" It was Pakku's turn to remain silent. "And what do you have to say for yourself?"
"I'm a sporting man. What if we wager on a game of Pai Sho? If I win, things go back to normal, if you win," He paused, then continued slowly, "I'll give you more of a say."
"You sir, are a moron," Kanna said, leaning over the table, "You're on."
A Pai Sho board was brought out. The game started furiously while other diners looked on. Pakku and Kanna slapped tiles onto the board, each refusing to lose. The game settled into a steady rhythm as Kanna started to dominate the board.
After an hour Kanna had secured her place in the game, and had her fiancé in a bind. She knew she had finally won, if only the game.
"Well?" She said after she placed her last piece. Pakku sat there in shock, and she continued, "We're not dumb servants. My say is, I feel like eating some of the pie my mother made this morning." She got up, leaving Pakku in his place.
Pakku could only watch as the woman he loved left through the front door of the restaurant, "I need a stiff drink."
He swiftly made his way to his favorite bar, The Iceberg Lounge. His cousin, Lo, was at the bar signing papers.
"You know," Pakku said, coming up next to him, "You never told me why you decided to sell this bar."
"I have my reasons, cousin." Lo said, a smile on his face. "It's still mine for the night, though. Let me buy you a drink."
"I need one, you won't believe what just happened to me." Over a beer Pakku told of his loss.
"That's rough," Lo mentioned, although he couldn't conceal his widening smile.
"I don't understand your passive compliance with this behavior," Pakku said, "She'll calm down, I'll put my foot down, and everything will be back to normal."
"You shouldn't wave off her emotions like that," Lo shook his head, "Your grip is too tight, you'll lose her before you realize she's gone."
"No woman has broken off an engagement before," Pakku shook his head, "I'm not worried about it."
Someone called for Lo across the bar, and as he got up he slapped Pakku on the back, "Make sure that's what you want."
Pakku sat alone at the bar, and after three beers, he scanned the bar for Lo, but couldn't find him. "Must be on important business," Pakku said, stumbling off his stool. He made it home and crashed into his bed.
He almost didn't wake up in time for his morning class, and he was still pulling on his coat on his way out the door. When he arrived, he found several students already waiting, plus a messenger.
The young man bowed and handed Pakku a scroll. "Who is this from?" Pakku asked.
"A young woman came into the office right before we closed last night, asked us to deliver it first thing this morning." He bowed again and left.
Pakku opened the scroll and recognized Kanna's handwriting:
"I'm leaving you before your arrogance destroys everything you hold dear, including me. Even if I wasn't sure that you'd end up a bitter man I would still leave you for your cousin Lo. He respects me as a woman. Goodbye."
Pakku crumpled the note in one hand, stareing off into the horizon with a scowl on his face. "I need a drink."