Author's Notes: This will be home to my collection of stories focusing on Jakotsu. Ranging from serious to silly, these will take a deeper look into him as a character using 100 different themes. These are all written as part of the livejournal community iy(underscore)no(underscore)kakera, which is a 100 theme drabble/ficlet community and I encourage you all to check it out.
Being as this is about Jakotsu, there will be mentions of male/male relationships and some darker sado-masochistic type thoughts. If either of these are unsettling to you, then please turn back now.
For the rest of you, I hope you enjoy this look into one of my favorite characters of all time!
Title: Beautiful
Theme: Set #2, #1- Start
Genre: Introspective/General
Word Count: 300
Rating: PG
Summary: Everyone's way of life has to start somewhere...
Note: 'Okaa-san' means mother.
He had always been a unique child.
Blessed with a face any woman would envy and silken strands of ebony hair, the young boy was destined to be extraordinary.
At the age of four, he'd taken a liking to swords. The house was full of them, orders from the daimyou to his father, the town's sword-smith. Sometimes, he'd sit beside his father when he worked; inky-black eyes following the curves of the metal as if it was the most beautiful thing on earth.
But the real turning point was when he was seven.
It was a cold rainy day; and like most children, he had to stay indoors. Poking his head into his mother's room, he spotted her makeup and clothing near the dressing-screen. Curiosity getting the best of him, he crept in.
Wondering where her child had gotten to, the elegant woman was more than just surprised on finding him as she did.
There he was- her young son, proudly attired in her finest kimono, with makeup applied perfectly to every feature of his face.
She knew she should chide him for such behavior, but she couldn't. Never had she seen a prouder, more content look on the boy's face than at that very moment.
"O-okaa-san!" He'd finally noticed her arrival, and panicked at her catching him in such a state.
She smiled warmly and knelt beside him.
"It's all right, my son," She smoothed his hair back, and twisted it up into a bun. Reaching out, she lifted her favorite hairpin from the nightstand and put it in his hair, "You look very beautiful."
He smiled then, the most radiant red-painted smile in the entire world, because his Mother accepted him, accepted his choice.
"Thank you, Okaa-san. I can only hope to be as beautiful as you."