COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER:
All rights and privileges to Houshin Engi belong to Ryu
Fujisaki, JUMP Comics; Shueisha Inc., and TV Tokyo. Characters
from HE are used without permission for the purpose of
entertainment only. This work of fanfiction is not meant for
commercial use. No infringements of rights are intended.
In other words - please don't sue us, we NEED our
allowance to buy HE merchandise and make you guys rich!
****************************************************************
NOR IRON BARS: an ARTL Sidestory
I. just came in
by Kotoshin & MearlDox
****************************************************************
"Stone walls do not a prison make,
Nor iron bars a cage;
Minds innocent and quiet take
That for an hermitage;
If I have freedom in my love,
And in my soul am free,
Angels alone that soar above
Enjoy such liberty."
-- Richard Lovelace
-- To Althea from Prison, iv.
================================================================
He was bored.
He was bored bored bored.
The policy of secrecy ensured that he was not bothered
by the insignificant concerns of the lower youkai-sennin, should
he choose to wander about. He was an unrecognized power, able to
spy on what the lower ranks /really/ thought of the higher
echelon.
Secrecy had its drawbacks. Without the appearance of
power, he all too often wound up with a pleasant view of the
slavering, drooling jaws of a muscle-bound bonehead, seconds
before they dissolved into crimson waters.
Normally, this was tension relief.
After the sixth such episode in one day, it was just
plain irritating.
//At least I don't have to clean up.//
Damn them. Damn all of them.
He hated this place. Oh, he'd gotten /used/ to it,
after the first sixty years - but that didn't mean a thing
where hate was concerned. That didn't mean he /liked/ it here.
So instead of mingling with the rabble or listening to
the bitches [1] fawn over him, he was stuck doing a routine
maintence job on the database of Kingou mainframe.
//I swear, the next STUPID idiot that bothers me will
get WORSE than the Kousuijin.//
He was bored.
An idiot would relieve the boredom - but only if it
was an interesting one instead of the stupid ones he'd been
gutting.
//And interesting fools are HARD to come by.//
Dozing, he sat back to nap out the tedium of the all-
mainframe system scan with both feet propped across the
consoles.
================================================================
He knew this wasn't the smartest thing he'd ever done.
Sitting down in front of the locked sliding door, he managed to
concoct a connection between Taikyokufuin and the lock.
/I'm doing this for all of us./
Even though - even though he was sure that it didn't,
and wouldn't matter in the end. Kingou technology was simply far
too advanced when compared to Konron's.
/But I can't just stand by and do nothing!/
After the disaster he'd made of getting himself assigned
to Ningenkai, to work alongside Bou-chan -
/It ... wasn't my fault. Not all of it, but .../
Only to find that there was no room left for him beside
his best friend. Only to find that there was already someone in
place as Bou-chan's right-hand and confidant. Only to find that
it was too late to speak the feelings realized only after
Bou-chan left.
/Bou-chan ... /
He sat down, crosslegged, to wait out the combinations
Taikyokufuin deluged the lock with.
/I'd do anything for you. I'd do anything to help your
dream - our dream - come true .../
After he'd returned to Konron, he'd seen all too clearly
that conflict between the two senninkai was inevitable. But he
could do NOTHING. His student was assigned to the South Quadrant
in ningenkai, Taiitsu was exclaiming and experimenting over
upgrades for Nataku every free minute - and all his proposals at
arming Konron was dismissed out of hand.
/Dismissed, because it would "provoke Kingou and upset
the peace!"/
He did not understand Genshitenson. What with the sendou
- and Bou-chan - active in the Ningenkai, houshin'ing youkai-
sennin left and right -
/... we are already provoking them./
That was why he was here. Here, to find out as much as
he could about what the sendou of Konron will eventually come
up against. To prevent as much inevitable loss of life as
possible. He tried not to think about discovery.
/I must not - I will not be found./
If he was found - it would escalate into war, far too
early. So he sat still, and listened.
================================================================
Absently gnawing on a fingernail, he sat up as his ears
caught the telltale beep of anomalous activity. A corridor that
was scheduled for robotic maintence registered a heat reading.
The heat reading of a human-sized life-form - a definitely
/human/ life-form.
"Hmm?" Dull black eyes burned with renewed interest.
"And what's this?"
Recalibrating the sensors in that area, he was
pleasantly surprised to receive the report.
"A high-calibre paopei that matches nothing in Kingou's
records?"
Coupled with the fact that the intruder was human -
there could only be one conclusion.
//A sennin from Konron?//
Baring teeth, he smiled. Someone wasn't supposed to be
here ... Someone with no /business/ being here. Someone who just
might turn out to be an interesting fool.
================================================================
[1] Shi: ... I'm sorry, Jutenkun! ^^;
================================================================
minor bits of babble:
SHI:
Yes, it IS Outenkun/Fugen.
Shi blames mearlchan for this idea.
The seeds of this fic was born in the process of reviewing her
"The most beautiful cloud in the world."
And for the convincing ou-chan bits.
*throws mearlchan a blame rock and runs*
MEARLCHAN:
Yes! It was me! ME, in the KITCHEN, with the KOUSUIJIN!
Bwa ha ha ha ha~!
*calms down?*
I'm a fan of both characters, and both have such strong
personalities... this, plus the Taikoubou factor, makes it
interesting to me to see the interactions of the two.
================================================================
Last Modified: February 23, 2002 3:18PM
================================================================
All rights and privileges to Houshin Engi belong to Ryu
Fujisaki, JUMP Comics; Shueisha Inc., and TV Tokyo. Characters
from HE are used without permission for the purpose of
entertainment only. This work of fanfiction is not meant for
commercial use. No infringements of rights are intended.
In other words - please don't sue us, we NEED our
allowance to buy HE merchandise and make you guys rich!
****************************************************************
NOR IRON BARS: an ARTL Sidestory
I. just came in
by Kotoshin & MearlDox
****************************************************************
"Stone walls do not a prison make,
Nor iron bars a cage;
Minds innocent and quiet take
That for an hermitage;
If I have freedom in my love,
And in my soul am free,
Angels alone that soar above
Enjoy such liberty."
-- Richard Lovelace
-- To Althea from Prison, iv.
================================================================
He was bored.
He was bored bored bored.
The policy of secrecy ensured that he was not bothered
by the insignificant concerns of the lower youkai-sennin, should
he choose to wander about. He was an unrecognized power, able to
spy on what the lower ranks /really/ thought of the higher
echelon.
Secrecy had its drawbacks. Without the appearance of
power, he all too often wound up with a pleasant view of the
slavering, drooling jaws of a muscle-bound bonehead, seconds
before they dissolved into crimson waters.
Normally, this was tension relief.
After the sixth such episode in one day, it was just
plain irritating.
//At least I don't have to clean up.//
Damn them. Damn all of them.
He hated this place. Oh, he'd gotten /used/ to it,
after the first sixty years - but that didn't mean a thing
where hate was concerned. That didn't mean he /liked/ it here.
So instead of mingling with the rabble or listening to
the bitches [1] fawn over him, he was stuck doing a routine
maintence job on the database of Kingou mainframe.
//I swear, the next STUPID idiot that bothers me will
get WORSE than the Kousuijin.//
He was bored.
An idiot would relieve the boredom - but only if it
was an interesting one instead of the stupid ones he'd been
gutting.
//And interesting fools are HARD to come by.//
Dozing, he sat back to nap out the tedium of the all-
mainframe system scan with both feet propped across the
consoles.
================================================================
He knew this wasn't the smartest thing he'd ever done.
Sitting down in front of the locked sliding door, he managed to
concoct a connection between Taikyokufuin and the lock.
/I'm doing this for all of us./
Even though - even though he was sure that it didn't,
and wouldn't matter in the end. Kingou technology was simply far
too advanced when compared to Konron's.
/But I can't just stand by and do nothing!/
After the disaster he'd made of getting himself assigned
to Ningenkai, to work alongside Bou-chan -
/It ... wasn't my fault. Not all of it, but .../
Only to find that there was no room left for him beside
his best friend. Only to find that there was already someone in
place as Bou-chan's right-hand and confidant. Only to find that
it was too late to speak the feelings realized only after
Bou-chan left.
/Bou-chan ... /
He sat down, crosslegged, to wait out the combinations
Taikyokufuin deluged the lock with.
/I'd do anything for you. I'd do anything to help your
dream - our dream - come true .../
After he'd returned to Konron, he'd seen all too clearly
that conflict between the two senninkai was inevitable. But he
could do NOTHING. His student was assigned to the South Quadrant
in ningenkai, Taiitsu was exclaiming and experimenting over
upgrades for Nataku every free minute - and all his proposals at
arming Konron was dismissed out of hand.
/Dismissed, because it would "provoke Kingou and upset
the peace!"/
He did not understand Genshitenson. What with the sendou
- and Bou-chan - active in the Ningenkai, houshin'ing youkai-
sennin left and right -
/... we are already provoking them./
That was why he was here. Here, to find out as much as
he could about what the sendou of Konron will eventually come
up against. To prevent as much inevitable loss of life as
possible. He tried not to think about discovery.
/I must not - I will not be found./
If he was found - it would escalate into war, far too
early. So he sat still, and listened.
================================================================
Absently gnawing on a fingernail, he sat up as his ears
caught the telltale beep of anomalous activity. A corridor that
was scheduled for robotic maintence registered a heat reading.
The heat reading of a human-sized life-form - a definitely
/human/ life-form.
"Hmm?" Dull black eyes burned with renewed interest.
"And what's this?"
Recalibrating the sensors in that area, he was
pleasantly surprised to receive the report.
"A high-calibre paopei that matches nothing in Kingou's
records?"
Coupled with the fact that the intruder was human -
there could only be one conclusion.
//A sennin from Konron?//
Baring teeth, he smiled. Someone wasn't supposed to be
here ... Someone with no /business/ being here. Someone who just
might turn out to be an interesting fool.
================================================================
[1] Shi: ... I'm sorry, Jutenkun! ^^;
================================================================
minor bits of babble:
SHI:
Yes, it IS Outenkun/Fugen.
Shi blames mearlchan for this idea.
The seeds of this fic was born in the process of reviewing her
"The most beautiful cloud in the world."
And for the convincing ou-chan bits.
*throws mearlchan a blame rock and runs*
MEARLCHAN:
Yes! It was me! ME, in the KITCHEN, with the KOUSUIJIN!
Bwa ha ha ha ha~!
*calms down?*
I'm a fan of both characters, and both have such strong
personalities... this, plus the Taikoubou factor, makes it
interesting to me to see the interactions of the two.
================================================================
Last Modified: February 23, 2002 3:18PM
================================================================