Courting
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN FUSHIGI YUUGI! ONLY CHARACTERS IN HERE THAT ARE MINE ARE YING FA AND HAKEI!
Summary: Some called him a god. Shogun of our fair Kutou. The truth was that he was an arrogant man, who thought of nothing but himself. What he wanted, he got. So when he put his eyes on me... It was only natural to resist.
My life was one of luxury, I can assure you. I was a princess, second born to the Emperor. My father reigns over Kutou, the country to the east, guarded by the blue dragon god Seiryuu. Of the god Seiryuu, there were 7 constellations; Nakago, Amiboshi, Suboshi, Soi, Ashitare, Tomo, and Miboshi. When Seiryuu no Miko arrived, the seven constellations rushed to the palace to serve her.
I, as a princess, was instructed to not interfere with the business of the seishi. Only to watch my brother, Hakei, crown prince of Kutou and insure that he gets into no harm. My brother was named after our ancestor Emperor Hakei, who ruled shortly after the summoning of Genbu. It is said that he, during his time as an heir, made contact with the Genbu Shichiseishi and Genbu no Miko.
Now normally, such a task as keeping my brother safe would be easy, but one fated day... It wasn't. Hakei wanted to go to the gardens that day. Who was I to disagree with him? The gardens were built to please my former empress mother. She tended to it, of course. Mother loved to nurture her garden every day. When I was a child, she would bring me with her to water the plants. My mother died in childbirth with Hakei, but I bore no grudge against him.
Perhaps it was my father's fault, I began to wonder as I sat down on the bench beside the rose bushes. I lifted my feet from my slippers and rested them on the warm soil. It was refreshing, and cool. The slippers I was accustomed to wear, were small and adorned in jewels, but very thick and heavy. Days in Kutou-koku were usually unbearably hot, but I could not break protocol while my father's advisors and my handmaidens were nearby.
My father... As Emperor, was used to getting what he wanted. My mother was a princess of Hokkan, a descendant of one of the first seishi to ever appear, Uruki (woman). Uruki was originally a prince, not princess, of Hokkan. He was exiled to a life of peasantry by his father who was told by a prophet that his son would one day overthrow him. It is said that Genbu no Miko is one of my line's ancestors and that she had a relationship with Rimudo-sama before she returned to her own world, leaving a child behind that was protected by her second wish to the beast god Genbu.
My mother, was very beautiful, father says when he reminisces about the past. Beautiful but stubborn. When he took her back with him and named her Empress, she still disliked him, not being able to tolerate his presence but allowing it for it is the duty of a princess to marry bear heirs.
" Ying Fa." Hakei broke me out of my revery by calling my name. Ying Fa, is my name. Named after the rare trees that grow in Hokkan-koku with pink and white blossoms. When my mother bore me, she named me after the Ying Fa, which she cherished in her home country. I've personally never experienced Hokkan country except from what I can imagine from my mother's vivid descriptions of home. Rugged mountains, forests, and meadows take up Hokkan land. Because it is in the north, it is said to snow very often, compared to here.
In comparison, Kutou is full of water ways with a pretty mild climate.
" Yes, Hakei?" I answered my brother, wondering to what mischeviousness my little brother was up to now. It seemed he was playing with the roses. " Ying Fa, do you think that the roses are sad?" Hakei asked, looking at the somewhat wilting petals. It was an odd question, one I would of expected my mother to ask if she had been alive. Concentrating, I observed his face. His face, then, looked so much like our mother's.
Hakei, much like me, took many traits from our mother. His face and mine, are almost the same, except for his darker skin tone that he took from father. My features, I took none from father, looking more like my mother, who was very pale with dark ebony hair and green eyes. That was how I remembered how she looked. How expressive her eyes looked, emerald that reminded me of flowing grass. My eyes were much the same, an oddity in Kutou.
" I have no idea, Hakei. Would you like to move them to where more sunlight reaches?" I asked, noticing how they were in the dark compared to the other plants. He smiled at me and nodded, his brown hair moving along side his head.
It was bright outside. Later, when it was cooler, we would return and replant them.
As I looked at the roses, I oddly felt a connection with them. How lonely they must of felt, being on the opposite side of all the other plants... It is funny, how one can be surrounded by many, yet still feel so lonely. I am surrounded by my father, brother, advisors, even handmaidens, yet my loneliness is unrivaled by any.
Hakei yelped as his finger pricked a thorn. My hand reached inside my pocket to get my handkerchief. Slowly, I wiped the blood away and pressed it against his finger.
The snap of a twig alerted me to another's presence. Who? I thought as I looked up. Who would come into my mother's garden unnannounced? Luckily I had not said such a thing aloud, lest there would of been more trouble than there already was.
" Nakago-sama!" Hakei piped, smiling at the much larger man that shadowed over us. Nakago... That was the name of our shogun, one of the Seryuu Seishi. How was it that Hakei was familiar with this man, I wondered. I made it my business to ask him later if I would remember.
He was gorgeous, I realized, as I finally looked at him akin to awe. Such beautiful blonde hair, spun like gold underneath the sun. And his eyes.. A clear blue, filled with an intensity I could not describe. This was the man, my handmaidens warned me to avoid lest I be caught into his beauty as the others. They said, even at his tender age of 21 summers, he was beautiful enough to even rival Seiryuu. Before, I laughed at them, wondering why the depicted him as a god, beautiful and powerful. I expected him to be a rash young boy.
His eyes were what frightened me when we first met. Curiosity stood calculating in them, giving him a look of intelligence that not even my own tutors wrought. Yet it was not that, that surprised me so. It was that look in his eyes. Blatant desire that he didn't even bother to conceal. I knew the look, many times shot my way by the men who looked to replace my father on the throne. It was the look of a man, rather than a boy. It was.. unnerving, to say the least.
Slowly, I stood, finding it rude to kneel as he stood. I held onto my brother's shoulder, clutching it tightly. His eyes followed my movements, his lips quirked in amusement. Oddly, I felt disgruntled as he watched me, unusual as it was. It was my teachings as princess that were supposed to teach me how to ignore such things... But with this certain person, this man, I felt challenged. I felt like a child being humiliated by an older person.
" Ne, Nakago-sama, do you think that the flowers are sad?" Hakei asked him, in his own childish way. At times I felt envious of my brother, who could so easily trust another as if it were as easy as breathing itself. I, myself, stood guarded, awaiting his response.
" Perhaps because they are secluded from the others... Maybe they are lonely, as well?" the voice was low and husky, almost immediately I felt edgy, shivers going down my back. My eyes shot up daringly at him in shock. It was almost as if he read my mind earlier... Exactly how long was he there watching us, anyways?
Seiryuu Seishi are granted special abilities so that they can protect their miko. I wouldn't be surprised if mind reading was among them.
" Maybe," a mischevious smile crossed my brother's face, and I inwardly sighed. What could the boy be up to now?
" Nakago-sama, have you been introduced to my sister yet?" the child asked, bringing me closer to the man. I resisted of course, trying to concealingly pull my hand away from my brother's. That little hellion! I fumed as I approached the broad, blond haired shogun, unwillingly. Sometimes, I was struck by my brother's clear mind.
He knew what he was doing. The look I shot the man, he must of noticed. Lately, Hakei had been warning me to get a love interest unless he'd do it himself for me. Of course, I didn't listen. Obviously I was wrong not to. To think that my brother would try to pair me up with such a man!
" No, but I would be pleased to." the amusement in his eyes just seemed to enlarge. Arrogant brute, I fumed, a light blush on my face as my hand was pressed in his own. It was odd, I thought, looking at our hands. How easily our hands molded together... As if it were meant to be there. I blushed harder at the thought, shaking my head.
" My name is Nakago." he introduced himself as if I didn't know who he was. Seiryuu! How enticing he smelled! He smelt like sandalwood. A deep masculine pungent smell that invaded my nose like the very garden we stood in.
He looked so gallant at the time. Dressed in his armor with his long hair falling loosely around his shoulders. Had I known at the time that everything was a ruse, most assuredly I would of left just as quickly as he came.
" My name is Ying Fa." I responded, blushing even harder as he clutched onto my hand, not letting it go as any other man would if we were to be introduced. It just reminded me of my earlier thoughts. I was positive, by now I must of looked like cherry!
" Ying Fa.." his lips tested my name and my attentions were brought onto them. As I stared at them mouth it, I felt an odd feeling in my stomach. As if it were to flip. And as he held my hand firmly, I felt the strange sensation that one of the threads of my life were met
.
" After the trees in Hokkan country, am I correct?" Nakago asked, astounding me even more. That knowledge, even for a shogun, was incredible. How did he know?
" My mother... was a princess in Hokkan country." I stumbled on my words, mumbling, as I looked down. I could feel him staring at me. Its an odd feeling, as if someone's eyes are burning into your skin. Hakei began to converse with him, despite the fact that my hand was pressed in his own.
Gradually, as time passed, his grasp on my hand fell looser, until I pulled it back to me.
" Perhaps...We should go now?" I asked Hakei when I noticed the brief silence between the two. I felt like running away. I just needed the proper excuse. His presence was domineering, suffocating me as I pretended to tend to the roses.
I needed to leave. His scent, his voice, him, everything about this man put my toes on edge. Made me feel incredibly uncomfortable. He made me feel light-headed, and that was something I could not tolerate.
"Yes, I suppose we should." my brother agreed, nodding his consent. He grabbed my hand and began to lead me out the garden. As if by chance, an arm shot out and halted me at my shoulder. I turned in instinct towards the shogun, who's lips were quirked again as he watched me squirm in his presence.
" Will I meet you again?" he asked, his fingers grasped onto robes sleeve as if to stop me from bolting like a frightened rabbit. A frown crossed my face. Actually that was how I felt at the time. Like the prey. And the shogun was the predator, ready to pounce when he got the chance. Luckily, his chance hadn't come.
" You assume too much." I stopped his familiarness with me. It was most unbecoming. How dare he? How dare he enter my mother's garden without intoduction or permission! How dare make me feel like one of those giggling love-struck handmaidens who idolize him like some god! How dare this man, presume to act so familiar with me!
" I'll see you again." he promised me in that serious, fierce tone that I would learn to hate in the next coming days. He let go of my arm and I walked away, my face flushed as I indignantly cursed him as I took each step. Not if I could help it! I'd avoid him every single corner of the kingdom if that was what I had to do to never see that arrogant man ever again!
It would be too late when I would learn that Nakago never breaks his promises.