Note: There are eventually going to be four stories in the Matchmaker series... ironically enough, it wasn't until I began this one that I realized that as well as Roji and Yukino work as matchmakers, their goals are slightly different. After all, Shichiroji knows how Kambei feels about Nasami (hence the story "Secret Admirer, Not So Secret Heartache" and its sequel, "Triple Return"), while Yukino is (at least in my version of things, and as of this point) still encouraging Kirara after Kambei.
"Magic in the Air" is set during a slightly different version of events of Chapter 41 ("The Cost of Pride") of THE SWORD OF THE SOUL.
Magic in the Air
"May I get you anything, Kyuzo-sama?"
The assassin turned from his moody staring out the window to see Yukino standing in the doorway of his room, her hands demurely folded in her sleeves.
"No... thanks."
She bowed and turned to go, until his voice stopped her.
"Wait."
Yukino glanced back. "Yes?"
"Tea. I would like hot tea."
"Of course, great samurai. If you'll give me a moment, I'll direct one of the serving girls to bring some to you."
"Join me."
Yukino was startled, but the look in Kyuzo's eyes brooked no argument, so she nodded and left to fetch them hot tea.
A few minutes later, they were both seated in his room, Yukino pouring with her usual grace while Kyuzo watched her. She handed the first cup to him as her guest, then poured for herself.
"May I ask why you wished me to join you?" she asked quietly, meeting his gaze over the top of her cup.
"I... need your advice."
"Mine?"
"Yes."
"Well... I'll do what I can, Kyuzo-sama. But what do you need my advice for? I doubt I know much that would be useful for a samurai,"
He shook his head. "It's not advice for a samurai." Yukino looked puzzled, but he met her eyes directly. "It's advice for a man."
Slowly, realization dawned on the geisha. "Oh... so, the advice you need is about a woman."
The assassin nodded slowly.
"Do you need advice about women in general, or is there one in particular?"
He looked away, gazing out the window at the dancing fireflies. "One."
Yukino drained the last of her tea, then poured herself another cup. "Well, I'll be happy to offer what advice I can. What would you like to know?"
"If... a man wanted... to make a woman feel special... how could he do it?"
"Well, that all depends on... what you want," Yukino said slowly. "If you are attempting to gain her trust and friendship, how you would approach her is very different than a woman you... um... desire."
Without looking at her, Kyuzo set down his tea cup and drew his legs up to his chest.
"I want... everything from her."
That surprised the worldly geisha, who normally prided herself on knowing men and what they wanted. Never in a hundred years would she have guessed that Kyuzo would become infatuated with a woman, but it seemed that she had underestimated this man.
"Everything?" she asked softly, and then involuntarily drew back as he looked back at her, his eyes blazing with an inner fire.
"Everything. Her heart. Her body. Her soul. All she is."
"I see..." Yukino was stunned. She had vastly underestimated this man. "Have you ever... um... pursued this type of interest before?" she asked delicately, but Kyuzo shook his head.
"Not like this. They were bodies. That was it."
"But what are you willing to give in return?" Yukino asked him, pausing to stare at him. "You could be the most proficient lover in the Empire and it wouldn't matter."
"Then how?" he asked her, lifting his eyes to hers. "I... I need her. I am... empty without her."
"I see..." Yukino thought for a few minutes while she paced back and forth across the room, and Kyuzo could practically see her thinking.
"Kyuzo-sama... will you trust me?"
"That depends."
Yukino came over and knelt down beside him, startling them both by taking his hands in hers.
"Close your eyes for a moment, Kyuzo-sama."
For a moment, he watched her warily, but then obeyed, and Yukino took a deep breath, then exhaled.
Deliberately, she lowered her voice into the softer, more seductive tones she occasionally used with some of her clients, and more often than not, when she and Shichiroji were alone.
"Imagine that she is here, tonight, in the Firefly House. There is magic in the air as the fireflies dance, and the scent of the blossoms drifts through the room."
Through her grip on his hands, she could feel the samurai slightly relaxing at her words and her tone.
"Tell me what you see behind your eyes," she whispered to him. "Here, there is magic and romance... here, there is only you and her."
Kyuzo swallowed hard, but did not open his eyes.
"She... is by the window, watching the night," he murmured, his voice hoarse. "Wearing soft silks that cling, her hair loose."
"She wants you... what will you do?" Yukino added the softest hint of allure to her voice. "Do your hands want to touch her? Do your lips want to taste her?"
Kyuzo didn't answer, but she felt his grip tighten on hers, and saw his tongue briefly moisten his lips.
"Will you offer her sweet words?" the geisha whispered, leaning slightly closer so that her breath faintly touched Kyuzo's cheek. "Or would you love her in silence, letting your hands and your body speak for you?"
"I..." Kyuzo's voice was so soft that Yukino could hardly hear him. "So much... I want to tell her."
"Then tell her," Yukino said quietly. "Your hands are on her shoulders, drawing her close to you. Whisper the words in her ear as you hold her."
His lips moved but made no sound, and Yukino almost gasped at the heat of Kyuzo's skin against her hands.
"Will you offer her gentle caresses? Or will you move boldly?"
"Both... whatever she wants."
Yukino was fascinated as she stared at the samurai, watching his body trembling from whatever images he saw behind his closed eyes. Momentarily, she wished that she could see what he saw, for she sensed it would be an enlightening experience.
"Which of you will lead this ancient dance?" she whispered, lightly massaging his hands in hers. "Do you want to be in control? Or will you follow where she wishes to go?"
"Follow..." he whispered. "Anywhere..."
"She pulls you close... her lips against yours as she asks you want you want... offers herself..."
"I want..." He clenched his jaw tightly, and Yukino was astonished to see him fighting back tears.
"What is it you want, Kyuzo-sama? Tell me..."
"I want... to lose myself... in her... find myself... in her..." he whispered, a single tear escaping his closed eyes and making its way down his face.
He opened his eyes, and Yukino was stunned at the turmoil and need in the depths of Kyuzo's eyes.
"Kyuzo-sama..." Moved by an instinct she could never hope to explain, she let go of his hands to cup his cheek in her palm, brushing away the tear from his face. For a moment she felt him stiffen, but then he let himself relax once again.
"I... I think you already know everything you need, Kyuzo-sama," she said softly.
"Yukino-dono?" they both heard just outside the closed door, and the geisha turned toward the screen.
"Yes?"
"Another guest has arrived, a samurai. She has requested a room for the night."
Yukino's eyes flashed to Kyuzo, whose head had come up at the word 'she.'
And abruptly, Yukino's mind was whirling. It couldn't be... but the fire in Kyuzo's eyes grew brighter, and the geisha suddenly knew who the woman was that Kyuzo had been thinking of.
"Please offer her the eastern room on the ground floor. She will enjoy the view, and she'll not need to climb too many stairs. If she prefers, arrange a hot bath for her. And please let her know that someone will be along shortly."
"Yes, my lady."
They both heard the footsteps recede, and Yukino's mouth slowly curved in a smile.
"It looks like this is your chance, Kyuzo-sama."
He nodded, and she let him go so that he could rise to his feet.
"Thank you," he said softly, and made his way toward the door. But before he slid it open, he paused, and turned his head just slightly to look behind him.
"You... were right." And Yukino was startled to see him smiling. "There is magic in the air here."
Then the door slid open, and he was gone.