Hey, minna! So, my first Saiunkoku fic wasn't really accepted all that warmly, was it? Well, I don't mind, 'coz, even though nobody liked it too much, I had fun writing it, and, that's all I could really ask!
And, here's one more fic that's been bugging me since yesterday, I was up 'til twelve writing it on paper.
Please, keep in mind that here they are older, 'coz it's awkward to read if you think they're only like, fourteen. Trust me. My mind is incredibly pervy.
Oh, and I don't own, plus the story takes place a few couple of years – maybe four or five – since the last episode of S.M. s.2.
ENJOY!
~~~~=w=~~~~
Years had passed since the whole scandal with the co-governors of Sa Province, Shuurei Kou – the first ever female official – and Eigetsu To – the youngest official so far – had taken place. After hardship and obstacles, they had finally gained the happiness they had long since deserved.
Shuurei Kou – now more often referred to as Shuurei Shi – had finally realized her hidden, if not locked, feelings for Saiunkoku's young and aloof king, and ruled now by his side not only as a royal concubine, but as his equal, as his queen.
Truth be told, however, it was Shuurei who did most, if not all of the work, the king himself, Ryuuki, just served as a mere puppet – most of the time.
Seiran Shi, meanwhile, finally found his companion in Shuurei's "nee-san" Kouchou; they were happily married. Seiran also held a powerful spot in the Royal Army, being one of the highest ranked officials there, second only to General Ran himself.
Ensei Rou was finally a recognized official, having passed the examinations for it, and now he held his place as assistant governor of Sa Province.
Eigetsu To, meanwhile, the incredibly young official who was promised a bright future by Ryuuki – indirectly, of course – was finally beginning to seize it.
At a very young age, he was barely in his twenties, he was again appointed as SA province's official governor, this time on his own, no co-governor to rule alongside with. He was finally being accepted by the people of the province, heck; even the Sa clan welcomed him.
Though, the last part was mostly because of his beloved Kourin Sa's connections to the clan, she now held a high position within the clan and was now once of their few "ojou"s.
Eigetsu To, yes, he was incredibly successful now, yet he'd remained the same man he was before his success, remaining loyal to the friends and comrades he'd made before he made it big.
That, of course, included being VERY loyal to his ever-loving – and ever-beloved – Kourin, who, yes, had grown into quite a beauty.
Eigetsu received many marriage offers from nobles willing to marry off their daughters to him, but time and time again he refused. He never once gave a single thought nor did he ever hesitate to refuse their countless and incessant proposals. His heart, and everything else, belonged to Kourin alone, as he told them over and over.
Kourin Sa, of course, held her part as well, for, like her beloved Eigetsu, she had received a fair share of marriage proposals as well, ranging from people who wished for power – those vile, conceited men whose only intentions were to marry into the Sa clan – to people, plain people, who wished to marry her because of her beauty. The latter one happened more often than the former.
And, like her Eigetsu, she rejected them all, without once stopping to consider a possible suitor, no matter how good-looking, rich or powerful he was. In her eyes, Eigetsu was the only one.
This then, of course, made everyone – from their closest friends to the farthest of acquaintances – ask the same question: when on earth would he propose then, if he was so in love with her?
And, of course, their answers were given to them on the evening of the fair Lady Kourin's birthday. Wishing to have some time alone with his beloved, Eigetsu finally asked for her hand in marriage.
The shocked girl obviously said yes.
Soon enough, plans for the wedding came to surface. Shuurei had even gone to Sa province just to assist in the preparations. People found it absurd, of course, the Queen herself was to help arrange the marriage of a mere official? Utterly preposterous! But, of course, she had to, wanted to do it, these were her closest friends FINALLY getting married.
Finally, when the preparations for the wedding ceremony were through, people – two people, to be exact – took interest in what was to happen afterwards, particularly the night of the said ceremony.
These two people knew that the bride and groom, completely unlike normal people, knew next to nothing about 'adult' matters like this, even more o in what was to happen on their wedding night. Heck, one of the two even placed a bet that the youngsters had no idea what to DO on their wedding night. When asked – separately, of course, it'd have been much more embarrassing if asked together – they surprisingly found out that they were right.
So, with information that the two lacked knowledge in things like that, they had decided to take it upon themselves to teach them – or, at least, tell them the basics of what was needed to be done.
Ensei had taken it upon himself to talk to Eigetsu, and Shuurei with Kourin.
~~~~=w=~~~~
"Say, Eigetsu, you're about to be married soon, aren't ya?" Ensei asked the ever-busy green-haired man.
Eigetsu looked up from his work, smiled then nodded. "Mhm." He muttered in agreement. "I can't believe I'm marrying Kourin only a mere two days from now." He said quietly, though still with excitement in his voice.
Then he looked out the window, where Ensei caught him making a face he knew all too well, it was the face of daydreams, but not just any dreams – if you knew what I meant.
Ensei then saw this as the perfect chance to begin 'the talk' with Eigetsu.
"Say, do you know what happens after the wedding?" he began.
The younger green-haired boy blushed a bright red and looked away.
There was an awkward silence before he answered.
"Yes." He said, though it was the tone of uncertainty and embarrassment that gained Ensei's attention.
"You sound unsure. What exactly do you know?" the elder man asked.
"Well," the younger began, "I've heard of things."
"Things?"
"Well, they say on your wedding night, you finally 'sleep'," he raised his hand to make air quotations for the word, "with your wife, for one thing."
Ensei smiled. He was getting somewhere. "And?"
"Well, I thought that just meant sharing the bed with Kourin on the night we marry."
Ensei chuckled. Poor, innocent Eigetsu.
"What else do you know?"
"I've heard of the term 'taking' your wife as well. I just assumed that meant embracing her while you're asleep."
He nearly burst out laughing, and controlled himself at the last minute.
"Gee, you really are so innocent, aren't you?"
"Excuse me?"
"I said you're so innocent."
"Does that mean my interpretations were wrong?"
"Dead wrong, Eigetsu. Except for the sleeping part, maybe. But that's after."
"After what?"
"It."
"What's it?"
Ensei, who'd been looking out the window, looked at Eigetsu.
"Say, do you ever imagine stuff?"
"What do you mean by imagine? I imagine a lot of stuff."
"You know, stuff involving Kourin."
Eigetsu blushed, but still seemingly did not get it.
"Ensei, that doesn't really narrow it down. I imagine a lot of stuff about Kourin. I imagine her, everything about her, I imagine our time together, I imagine spending more time with her…"
He could go on, but he stopped. Some of his other fantasies were far too…unsafe to be said out loud. For one thing, they weren't as innocent as the ones he previously mentioned.
"That's not what I'm talking about."
"Eh?"
"I meant stuff involving Kourin…" he paused to point at Eigetsu, his lower regions, in particular, "and that."
"My legs? You mean, walking with her?"
"No, darn no! I mean, sure, you can use your legs, but not for walking, dammit! Don't you get what I mean?"
"Sorry, but no."
"I meant that!" Ensei said, pointing at a place more specifically now. "You know, your…"
"Oh, that." He answered.
"Well?"
Slowly, Eigetsu spoke, clearly embarrassed. "Yes."
"Really?" Ensei inquired more.
Eigetsu nodded. Yes, he thought of doing those things with Kourin. He though of things like, well, many, ineffable things, things he could not bear to say out loud.
"I'd always assumed doing those things was bad." Eigetsu spoke again.
"Bad?"
"It isn't?"
"Heck no! It's far from bad!"
"It is?"
"Well, maybe if you do it too much, or if she doesn't want to do it and you force her or…I'm getting far from the point! Anyway, you do imagine those things, right?"
"Yes. But, they aren't bad?"
"No, they're not! It's just primal instinct, Eigetsu; a man's got to do what a man's got to do."
"Oh." Eigetsu said, clearly embarrassed. "How do you know it isn't bad?"
"Let's just say, I'm an expert on these things."
Eigetsu blushed again, then a line came back to him. "Wait, what do you mean, 'if she doesn't want to do it'? You mean, there are times when you don't need to force her into it?"
Ensei nearly did a face palm. "Eigetsu, Eigetsu. I've so many things to teach you! I can't believe you're getting married already! You haven't been with enough girls! Are you sure Kourin's the only one for you? 'Coz, I…"
Seeing the look on Eigetsu's face, he stopped. "I can't believe you even had to say that, Ensei. Of course she's the only one for me."
"Oh. Sorry 'bout that, 'kay? Anyway, to answer your question, yes, there are times – numerous times, actually, when she wants to do it too. And some of those times have to be during your wedding night."
"So, that's what you do on your wedding night?"
"Bingo."
"Oh." He blushed again. That meant…
"Wait, so, I do that with Kourin on my wedding night?"
"Bingo."
"B…but, how?"
"Just let your instincts take over, man, oh, and remember, don't do all of the work, don't scare her, and make her happy. Her being happy means you're happy too."
"What?"
"You'll see on your wedding night. Like I said, let your instincts take over. You'll know what to do."
"Oh. Thanks."
"For what?"
"For this. If you hadn't told me, I might've spent all my married life thinking the things I wanted to do to Kourin were bad. That'd be bad." He said, chuckling.
Ensei chuckled too, and wondered how things were holding up on Shuurei's side.
~~~~=w=~~~~
"I can't believe dear little Kourin-chan is already getting married! And the day after tomorrow too! So soon!" Shuurei began, trying to ease her way into the 'talk'. She had to handle things differently from how Ensei would. She was sure if Ensei had been the one to do this with Kourin the girl might be too shocked to even get married. And nobody wanted that.
"Ahh…yeah, Shuurei-chan." She replied, her honorific for Shuurei had changed as the years went by, as did her honorifics for most people.
"Ohh…I can't wait to see you in your wedding dress!" the older blue-haired woman added.
Before Kourin could place in a reply, Shuurei continued on. "I'm sure Eigetsu-kun would love to see you in that as well." She said, in a slightly different tone from what she had used earlier.
"Eh?" the young bride-to-be exclaimed, a blush tainting her cheeks.
"You know what I mean!" Shuurei said, her tone changing again, this time it was joking.
"I'm sorry, but I don't." the purple-haired lass admitted, looking away from Shuurei.
"Oh?"
Kourin merely nodded, in her head she was wondering where this would head.
"Well, surely you know what's to happen the night of your marriage…?" she said, leaving the statement hanging, as if to make it sound like a question.
This time Kourin shook her head.
"I see."
"Do I need to learn what happens?"
"Well, yeah."
"Could you please tell me, then?"
Shuurei smiled. And so it began.
~~~~=w=~~~~
Eigetsu, who by this time had been too preoccupied with the new information he had acquired from Ensei, sat alone underneath a blossoming cherry tree. The pink petals of its blossoms fell onto his lap, some into his hair.
His talk with Ensei was yesterday, but it was still stuck in his head like it had just happened earlier.
To think, all those times he thought that those things were actually bad…
He laughed at himself, realizing how foolish – and incredibly innocent – that notion was.
Soon enough, he found himself picturing that night, that special night when…
"Eigetsu?" a girl's voice called out.
Snapping out of his…particularly lewd fantasy, he got up and saw Kourin standing in front of him, a smile and a blush on her already beautiful face.
"Oh, hey Kourin." He said nonchalantly – or at least tried to, he still couldn't get those images out of his head.
Not that he wanted to, but…
It was a force of habit.
On another note, he paid attention to his fiancée, who, strangely, was blushing.
Why on earth, though?
~~~~=w=~~~~
Kourin was blushing.
She was blushing a brilliant, bright red, and she had Shuurei's words to thank for it, even if a day had already passed since.
She remembered those things the older lady had said, but only snippets of it, she was still slightly mortified because of their talk.
Even if, later, when she had told Shuurei that the talk made her uncomfortable, Shuurei had said,
"Well, at least it was me who told you, and not Ensei. And if you're mortified now, just try and imagine what it would be like if he told you about…these things.
She nodded, still speechless.
Eigetsu will…will…
She couldn't even bear to finish the mere thought of it! What would happen if she wouldn't be able to do it on the night they were wed?
Oh dear…does that mean I'll be a horrible wife?
"Oh hey, Kourin." Eigetsu said, looking up at her.
She blushed even harder. Her only thought was of those words Shuurei had told her…
"Now, you must remember, your husband should be in control that day, okay? I know you're used to being the one in command, but then, during that night, Eigetsu has to be on top. Literally."
"I'm sorry, Shuurei, I don't quite understand what you're saying."
"Oh, simple. Consummation. Have you heard of it?"
Kourin – surprisingly had more knowledge on the fact than her husband-to-be. She blushed, and shyly nodded.
"Is that what we'll be doing on our wedding night?"
"Well of course, Kourin-chan!"
She blushed harder. In a matter of days they'll be…they'll be…
She shook her head to rid herself of the vile flashbacks.
"What's the matter, Kourin?" Eigetsu asked, witnessing the girl's previous action.
"Eh? Oh, nothing."
"Then why were you shaking your head? Is something wrong?"
"Nothing, nothing's wrong, Eigetsu…"
"Oh."
After an awkward silence, Eigetsu offered the seat adjacent to him to Kourin.
"Hey, Kourin." He said, patting the space next to him.
"Oh, sure." Kourin replied, sitting next to him.
She leaned against him, her face still aflame. He shyly put his arm around her, and as she looked up to him, she noticed – his face was aflame as well.
Hmmn…she wondered.
~~~~=w=~~~~
He wanted to do a face palm. Why did he invite her to sit next to him? That would just be pure, absolute torture.
Now his thoughts were clouded. All he could think of was her…and those things.
And it didn't help that she leaned on him, her head on his shoulder, her lavender scent going up his nose, and that they were all alone.
He unconsciously put his arm around her, his head resting on hers.
That didn't help either.
And he realized what he did, and he blushed.
She looked up at him with those emerald orbs of hers, smiling up at him.
He smiled back and looked away. This was getting very uncomfortable for him…the knowledge he'd just recently acquired was tormenting him…
Now that he knew they would be doing it, that it wasn't bad…
What's the harm in doing it a little bit earlier, when they would be doing it anyways?
And she sat there, next to him, the warmth of her body radiating onto him, her scent enveloping him.
And, they were alone.
It was the perfect setting.
He adjusted his position so he was facing Kourin, he adjusted her too so that she would be right in front of him.
"What's the matter, Eigetsu-kun?" she asked with that adorable voice of hers, her eyes widening in wonder, her face sprinkled with pink powder.
She was irresistible, and he had no idea whether he could control himself anymore.
She moved closer to him to poke him on the cheek – she loved to do that – when she noticed he wasn't answering or even paying attention, but instead was staring intently at her.
Then it happened.
He had no idea how it happened, but suddenly he had captured Kourin in an embrace, his arms on her waist, pulling her to him, his lips on hers.
She was shocked, but as Eigetsu noticed – she wasn't pulling away, and she was kissing him back.
They parted when they ran out of breath, both their faces sprinkled with pink dust. After a quick intake of air he pulled her in again and kissed her, this time more passionately.
It started when he began to nibble on her bottom lip. She moaned quietly, almost as if she didn't want anyone to hear – which was absurd because they were alone where they were, and Eigetsu doubted anyone would find them – this was a secret spot that he had found years ago, when he was co-governors with Shuurei. When he wanted to be alone he went there, and the only other soul who knew of the place was with him now, sucking face with him.
Nobody would find them, so why should she worry?
She moaned, but she slightly opened her mouth.
That was all Eigetsu needed, and he lost all control.
There even came a point when he had no idea what he was doing anymore, it just seemed natural to him.
So this is what Ensei meant with your instincts, he thought.
The next thing he remembered he was on top of Kourin – he had managed to lay her down somehow – his arms on her thighs, stroking them.
They pulled away again for air, and in a matter of seconds he was kissing her again.
His kisses trailed down her neck, up to the exposed skin just below it. He wanted to rip her clothes off, but he knew he shouldn't do that. He tugged on it gently, and slowly it revealed more skin. The girl he was on blushed, and spoke.
"Ei-eigetsu-kun…" she began, her voice trembling.
"Mmhhm?" he muttered, his lips still on her neck.
"I…I think we should just continue this t-tomorrow night…" she said shyly.
"Mmhhmm…" he said, his lips still on her neck.
"Please? This can wait, right?" she said, an unknown feeling evident in her voice.
He looked up at her, then he saw what the feeling was.
She was scared. She wasn't ready yet, and he was rushing her.
"Please?"
"Okay. I'm sorry."
"For what, Eigetsu-kun?"
"This. This must've scared you. I'm sorry. We can wait. After all, we are getting married tomorrow."
She smiled and sat up.
"Just one last kiss?" he begged.
After a while, she said, "Sure."
After that last kiss, they parted and resumed in what they needed to do. Eigetsu had to keep himself away from Kourin from that point, since Shuurei told him it was bad luck to see the bride before the wedding, and Kourin was already getting ready for the wedding – her dress, her hair, everything.
And Eigetsu couldn't wait.
~~~~=w=~~~~
"Kourin-chan, you look so pretty!" Shuurei exclaimed.
"Thank you, Shuurei-chan." The bride replied, red-faced.
She studied herself in the mirror. She'd never seen herself look so pretty.
Her purple hair – normally tied up – was let down and curled, so big, purple waves of hair cascaded down her shoulders and fell nearly as long as to her waist.
She was wearing a colorful array of garments, much like Shuurei's clothing when she wore her queen clothes. Stunning blues, yellows and reds highlighted her beautiful features.
Her face was donned with make-up; her cheeks were tainted with a bright pink blush, her lips a bright crimson thanks to the lip-paint Shuurei lent her, her eyelashes popping out in a beautiful ebony color, giving much attention to her jade-colored eyes.
"Are you ready, Kourin-chan?" Ensei said, entering the room. He was to walk her down the aisle while Shuurei would walk ahead of her.
She nodded.
"Okay, let's go, Kourin!"
Shuurei led the walk from the room to the garden – where they had decided was the perfect place where they would marry.
Friends, members of the Sa clan and some of Eigetsu's colleagues sat in the crowd, and all of them turned around to see the blushing bride.
The said bride smiled shyly, looking around her, until Ensei told her to look in front of her.
Her vision tunneled and at that moment all she could see was him, her groom, standing in front of the minister, smiling at her and looking at her like he had seen an angel.
She finally made it to him, after what seemed like eternity to Eigetsu.
"You look beautiful." He whispered.
She smiled, and he took her and with his.
Then together they faced the minister.
~~~~=w=~~~~
Hours had passed since the wedding – and the reception that had followed. It was already night time and the last of the visitors had just left.
Eigetsu was, obviously, preoccupied with his wife – oh how he loved the sound of that. His wife.
They were kissing, and his arms were around Kourin. He lifted her up, and this time he was carrying her like the bride she was, taking her up to their new room – the room they would now share, since they were married.
He had laid Kourin down on their bed, him on top of her, some of their garments already discarded on the floor.
He was just about to take off the last of her garments when someone knocked on their door.
He ignored it resumed with undressing his wife. His lips were already past her neck, just above her breasts.
But the knocking resumed.
"Who on earth could that be now?" Eigetsu asked, clearly annoyed.
"Just go answer it, Eigetsu-kun." His wife answered from underneath him, eyes droopy and her face red, wrapping herself around one of Eigetsu's previously discarded garments.
"Fine. But when I get back…"
"I'll still be here, Eigetsu. Go on. It could be important."
What's more important than having sex with your wife? He wanted to say. But for the time being he just agreed with Kourin.
Luckily he was still in decent attire, since he'd been too preoccupied in undressing his wife that undressing his self.
"What is it?" he asked, annoyed.
"Sir, I hate to interrupt you now, but we've got a very important visitor who wishes to see you." An assistant of his said.
"Is it really that important?"
"Yes sir." The assistant replied. He then continued to say this guy apparently had a high position somewhere. He didn't care, he wasn't listening anymore. All he wanted to do was get back to his wife.
"Fine, take me to him."
He had to get this thing over with. Fast.
~~~~=w=~~~~
It took him longer than he wanted to, but it was business. He just hoped Kourin was still awake when he got back – she was already looking sleepy when he left.
He entered the room and jumped back to bed only to see a half-naked Kourin sleeping, her body wrapped around their blanket.
Strangely though, he wasn't mad, or annoyed. He even laughed.
He stroked his sleeping wife's face. They would do the deed some other time. Tomorrow night, if he was lucky.
It didn't really matter, since all that was important was that he was already married to the girl he'd loved since his early teens.
Besides, he could kinda tell that she wasn't all that ready yet. Maybe he wasn't yet, either.
They would do it when they were ready.
Screw what Ensei said. He thought.
All that mattered was that he would be sleeping next to his wife.
That was all that he wanted before Ensei tainted his mind, anyway.
He shrugged, took off some of his clothes and slipped beside his wife.
This time he was just going to sleep next to Kourin.
It was all he really wanted, actually, and he got it.
He couldn't ask for a better night.
Even if they didn't do it, even if they still hadn't consummated. At least he was with her, and that was what was important.
~~~~=w=~~~~
Well, that's it. And I don't expect much readers or reviews for this story anyway, so, yeah, but still, if you want to tell me anything, like how pervy I am, or how pervy I made Eigetsu, whatever. You know what to do.
Jaa!